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aely's review
- 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
4.0
Parks-Ramage managed to write realistic characters who go through SO much trauma, with a bittersweet ending that left me feeling… complicated.
My only critique would be that the book felt so depressing and hopeless that at times it was very hard to return to the story.
Other than that, the book is a grim cautionary tale about abusive relationships and sexual assault. It was very emotional and well written. I hope that Jonah is able to live happily after the books ends. That is all.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Suicide, Blood, Dementia, Trafficking, Stalking, Abortion, and Suicide attempt
veggitorian's review
- 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: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
roughdraftofmylife'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
4.5
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting
freddybingsu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction and Fire/Fire injury
dalmavatai's review against another edition
However, I think this book is just poorly executed. The characters and the relationships are not developed well enough for me to believe in them, and the dynamics of an abusive relationship are equally poorly written. It feels like the author read a blog post about Abuse 101 and clumsily inserted every point at random intervals throughout the story. Like, all the dynamics - Jonah gaslighting himself and his experience of abuse, Richard compensating with meaningless shopping sprees after something bad happens - feel disingenuous, insincere; I just wasn't convinced by the author that these characters and relationships are real. They feel very one-dimensional, pawns to illustrate the author's point but lacking in development and depth.
This is really my main issue with the story but I also wanted to mention that of course it's really important to shed light on how old men can coerce younger men into playing out their BDSM fantasies - but BDSM is not inherently abusive. I think Jonah's daddy issues stemming from his homophobic father and wanting to please both him and God in his deeply Christian family is really interesting and will no doubt resonate with a lot of people's experience, but I think it's important to note that wanting to be dominated in sex is not inherently 'pathological', and even if it stems from mommy/daddy issues, it's still a valid sexual preference and people can engage in BDSM and have it be a healthy dynamic (that doesn't mean that we can't or shouldn't interrogate cultural trends around daddy issues, but it does mean that we shouldn't pathologize individuals with these sexual preferences because that doesn't help anyone).
Also, if you still want to read this book, please please look into trigger warnings, this book covers very heavy subjects and all the things I listed under 'graphic' content warnings are indeed EXTREMELY graphic.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
foxmulders's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Incest
bells_shelves's review
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
caterpillarkat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Trafficking
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Drug use and Incest
bluehairedlibrarian's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
With that said, this book is dark and traumatic, but the writing quality kept me reading despite the horrors on the page. Jonah is a compelling narrator and I sympathized with him while also thinking he was a complete idiot at times. The situations he got himself into could be excused by his naivete and Midwestern religious upbringing, but at the same time, he was incredibly naïve. He's also a very unreliable narrator, but I liked the framework that is revealed later on in the book. I thought it a bit strange for it suddenly to revolve around his non-relationship with a side character, and the ending felt strange and little forced.
I can't say I enjoyed this book, but I don't regret finishing it either. It's difficult and does not fall under the Gothic Horror trope at all. It's a difficult read, but a mostly well-written one.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
ajankloss's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, and Gaslighting