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megelizabeth's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
"Mum wanted us to see Yiayia before the surgery. In case. She didn’t use those words, but you could feel them hanging over us. We each sat on a chair pulled right up to Yiayia’s bed, even Peter. As she spoke we quietly committed her subtle mannerisms to memory.
In case."
I thoroughly adored this odd little coming-of-age story. I loved the family relationships at its heart, and found the ways the various tensions between the members of the family are explored to be brilliant. I also really loved the friendship between Bill and Lucas. The story is so quietly powerful and does such a great job of painting some of the intricacies of disability, sexuality (though there is some implied homophobia from one character that I do wish had been explored a bit more), illness, and family life.
I will say that the Hayley storyline didn't do too much for me personally, but this didn't bother me enough to stop me adoring this book, and definitely didn't stop my heart from breaking at multiple points. This was my first time reading from this author, and I'm definitely now keen to pick up more of his books. His writing style is fairly simple but so compelling, and I was just hooked.
I thoroughly adored this odd little coming-of-age story. I loved the family relationships at its heart, and found the ways the various tensions between the members of the family are explored to be brilliant. I also really loved the friendship between Bill and Lucas. The story is so quietly powerful and does such a great job of painting some of the intricacies of disability, sexuality (though there is some implied homophobia from one character that I do wish had been explored a bit more), illness, and family life.
I will say that the Hayley storyline didn't do too much for me personally, but this didn't bother me enough to stop me adoring this book, and definitely didn't stop my heart from breaking at multiple points. This was my first time reading from this author, and I'm definitely now keen to pick up more of his books. His writing style is fairly simple but so compelling, and I was just hooked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Ableism and Homophobia
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