emily_stimmel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Homophobia, Murder, Child abuse, and Suicide
Moderate: Animal death and Child death
kayleighcanread's review against another edition
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Murder, Homophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death and Bullying
Minor: Cannibalism and Rape
divafern's review against another edition
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Outing, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Alcoholism, Suicide, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Abandonment, Child death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Police brutality
becks4books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Suicide, Child death, Racism, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Child abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
rcampbell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This has the same dark, other-worldly, southern gothic feel to it. The story follows one boy, his family and the rural town he grows up in over one summer. Lots of moral lessons regarding religion, the "devil" amongst us and what evil is, were heavy going and not the most subtle but thoroughly enjoyed the story telling and use of language.
The setting is perfect and clearly one that McDaniels knows well. The heat and stiffling sense of the town was tangible, building as the tension in the story grew.
One reservation I have is in McDaniel's characterisation of the town's apparently only person with a disability as angry and bitter and being the 'evil villain' figure in the plot. This particular trope felt outdated and the book was written in 2016. Think this is a bit lazy and has the potential to perpetuate long-standing harmful trope of connecting disfigurement/disability with villainy. Or maybe this was the point....?!
I will look out for her future publications as I enjoy her use of setting, language and story telling and raced through this book in a couple of days.
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, Suicide, Murder, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
brokenspines_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Suicide
Minor: Child death and Child abuse
happyreadings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Fielding, Autopsy's son, becomes close with Sal and learns where Sal came from and the trauma he went through with his abusive family. However, word spreads of Sal being the devil and a cult forms. Things escalate at the end of the summer when the cult takes it too far and the heat becomes too much.
This book was a lot but if you've read Betty, by Tiffany McDaniels, then you'll understand this is her kind of story telling. This story had a lot of lessons mostly being not to judge something just because we're told that it is bad.
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Racism, and Suicide
epiphylium's review
- 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
The premise of the novel, to put briefly, is it is one of the hottest summers to ever be recorded in this town and Fielding's father, invites the devil to come. When his invitation is accepted, the devil comes to town not with horns and a tail, but in the body of a 13 year old black boy.
Some of my favourite things about the book includes the way it was set up. It is narrated by an older Fielding who is reflecting on parts of his life post 1984, which helps propel the story of that summer forward, leading up to everything that happens. You can tell that something has happened, as Fielding is so broken and guilt ridden that you can tell he has experienced a lot of traumatic events, but we don't know what they are until we progress through the novel.
This isn't a long novel, only a little over 300 pages, but the author covers so many important issues: racism, homophobia (during the AIDS outbreak in the 1980s), child abuse (incl rape, but mentioned briefly), religion, mob mentality, agoraphobia. Although set 4 decades ago now, these issues are still so prevalent today and it's something we should all care about and actively try and use our privilege to advocate for.
I can understand that because of the heavy themes in this novel that it is not for everyone, and like a previous reviewer, oczerniecka has said "It is hard for me to express how I could love a book that is depicting the most heinous aspects of human nature. This story moved me and showed me all the different sides of the issues that are brought up in the story. The characters affected by the events of the summer are complicated, and you cannot say if they are good or bad. Because when you choose to brand someone as bad, you are throwing off all the good about the person. And the same go with marking someone as good, you may not see the evil that is within the person. Read this deeply moving and sad story; this may shatter you and make you weep, and sometimes books should do just that."
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Blood, Injury/injury detail, Pedophilia, and Rape
sarahasyouwish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Child death, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Vomit, Rape, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse
lorylor's review against another edition
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Minor: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Miscarriage