specificwonderland's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Spoiler
In a way, not too much happened in this brief novella. In another way, so much happened. To list out the plot points is novella-length, a truncated bulleted list. To describe the characters' inner workings is a much larger project. I felt for these brothers and their survival. You could see how Paps exerted his influence but the kids didn't fully shrink away or lose themselves until the final threads of the story got woven. He exerted his influence on the mom from day 1, to everyone's detriment. You could feel the helplessness of the kids being swept along with the parents' bullshit. You hope kids are well cared for by competent parents but that's not always the case. Parents can just be people, and people are imperfect to some degree. And what a cast of ancillary characters: the neighbor, the bus driver and the mom's coworker Camrade. Re: the neighbor, it's infuriating that kids could be outside bouncing a ball yelling about the abuse they were bearing and the neighbor would be like, 'Hmmm this is a perfect time to show neglected kids incest porn'. But you know that happens in small towns, big towns, rich towns, poor towns. These kids never stood a chance, but they had each other.Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Rape
sorenzs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Outing
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Alcohol, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Rape, Incest, and Pedophilia
Minor: Infidelity and Addiction
uhhjeepers's review against another edition
3.75
This is a fast-paced, vignette styled narrative that tells the coming of age story of the youngest of three brothers. This book really came together for me at the end, and I strongly recommend it. It is emotional and honest and the writing is spectacular. The growth from the narrative feeling like it’s told from a child to a teenager really stuck with me, like I could read the changes on the page.
Check for TWs. They’re brief and don’t go into excruciating detail, but I still definitely felt them.
Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Outing, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization
kananineko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Abandonment, Body horror, Cursing, Homophobia, Outing, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Racism, Alcohol, Blood, Self harm, and Bullying
librarymouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Outing, Sexism, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcohol, Homophobia, and Incest
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
faythfarrar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Outing, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
ssuummeerrn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I learned something about myself as a reader; I need a concrete plot! This writing style just wasn’t it for me. Each chapter was like it’s own little story, which is fine, but it’s not my favorite format to read.
The characters did have development, but it felt spontaneous and I want to be able to read about the journey of development whereas in this book it happened behind the scenes.
This is a really great story, it’s just not the style or format that I want as a reader.
Shout out to Justin Torres who is a professor at my school!
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault
emma_hensley'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
readwithasherreid'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
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Self harm, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Bullying, Blood, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Ableism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
jordan036's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Hate crime, and Murder
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault