bookshelfhannah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Car accident, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Classism, Outing, Racial slurs, Racism, Drug use, Hate crime, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Alcohol, Bullying, and Drug abuse
maddb_96'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? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Rape, Drug use, Homophobia, Death of parent, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Slavery
ramalam98'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? Yes
4.0
"When did you last read a novel about a young, black, gay, Jehovah's Witness man from wolverhampton who flees his community to make his way in London as a prostitute?" - Bernardine Evaristo.
I really liked this story of family, religion, identity and nationality (and also daddy issues). It's written so tenderly in a way that makes you really feel what Jesse feels as he crashes through early adulthood. I also feel like I've learnt a lot from it.
The last 100 pages were less good, featuring a 14 year time jump where a lot has magically developed and improved without us able to actually see Jesse experience it. I also found some of the commentary in the final chapters a bit heavy-handed.
Graphic: Terminal illness, Racism, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, War, and Homophobia
Minor: Outing, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
196books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Racism, Drug use, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse
lidz_2tc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Drug use, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Racism
Minor: Death of parent
littlefish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Car accident
emzireads's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Racism
tlaynejones's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexual assault
sauvageloup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Pros:
- gripping and interesting writing throughout, which hooked me in right away. felt enormous sympathy for Norman from the first pages and for Jesse as we got to know him.
- the characters were painted so vividly that it felt like non-fic at times, like I could look them up online
- Mendez doesn't balk at any of grim realities Jesse faced, the abuse, some of the sex, the homophobia and internalised racism. there's never any shame put on Jesse for his choices by any of the decent characters and it really creates empathy
- I wanted so very badly for Jesse to do well, though I was afraid he wouldn't as there were so many ways he could've gone wrong - overdose, AIDS, or killed by a client. he wasn't like any other character I've read and I loved him
- it was strange but good to hear about the west Midlands in a book, the names of Dudley, Wolverhampton, merry Hill shopping centre, etc. all being familiar. and learning a bit more history of the area from a non-White perspective
- the book is also firmly placed in time through the music, a lot of which I didn't know, but still created an atmosphere. moving towards the 2000s felt like coming into familiar territory as I knew much more of those ones.
- as books like these always do, it made me think about my whiteness and what I can do to try to avoid the racism, personal and systemic, that Jesse faces.
- I did like how the book was structured, with the kind of prologue flashback of Norman's life at the start which eventually linked to Jesse.
- the book also raises the issue of beating kids as punishment, threatened by Norman and brutally carried out by Graham on Jesse. it's not confronted head on exactly, but I think it was clear it didn't work.
- oh and I did appreciate that there wasn't any biphobia, since bi people sometimes seem to slip by the wayside, but here were main characters and never dismissed or not included or acknowledged.
cons:
- I wish we had seen a bit more of Norman, since i liked him a lot, and it was tragic (but understandable I guess) that Jesse didn't get to meet his father.
- I felt that the shift from Jesse being 'Not Okay' to him being 'Okay' was too sudden, skipped over in time hops and summerised through flashbacks. After all of Jesse's suffering, to have seen that growth and recovery in the present tense would've been more rewarding I think, though I suppose Mendez thought it was the boring part of Jesse's story, his stay with Derrick, finding Owen and Ginika again, etc. I felt a bit robbed that we didn't get that part of the story.
- the part with Jean-Alain and Nick's dinner party right at the end, threw me a little too, but I suppose it was for the purpose of Jesse having that chat with J-A about the past. did feel stuck on the end though, like it was an extra scene randomly shoved into the main story.
overall, though, it was hugely readable and gripping, with a lot of important narratives and ideas in there, stories which haven't been the focus in the past, and highlighting the everyday racism and homophobia people still experience.
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Classism, Physical abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Addiction, Homophobia, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Racism
heavy, graphic sex and drug use, along with child abuse by a parent and religious bigotryuranaishi'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Cannibalism, Child abuse, Cursing, Medical content, Mental illness, Outing, Racism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Sexual content
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Minor: Cancer, Cultural appropriation, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Slavery, and Terminal illness