A review by starpalette
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 Just so good. Whenever I was not reading this book, I was thinking about it and wondering when I would be able to read it again. I think there's something so engaging in good character-building and smart use of space and time. I became attached to so many characters, and even when they made bad decisions (and it happened often) it was always understandable and made sense for who they were and what they were going through. I'll compare this book "Lie with me" and "Swimming in the dark" because they are both similar books I read this year that I didn't like as much: I felt like those books didn't take the time to build characters and their relationships deeply (maybe the length of the books is at fault there), whereas this one felt like an intricate character study, and the romance was just adding to that rather than the focus of the book. But even the relationship between James and Mungo here was built slowly and very very sweet and believable. I felt so much for Mungo and his relationship with his mother, and I was terrified that ultimately he would let his circumstances get the better of him. Teared up so many times! So so lovely. 
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