satinnite's review against another edition
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
mashedpotatoandsaladcream's review
- 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
it mainly follows shuggies relationship with his mother as he grows from 5-15 watching and caring for his mother as his siblings draw away, forced or willing, as she falls into alcoholism and poverty in 1980s scotland -not only does he struggle with this but he also has to struggle with being an effeminate and seemingly clearly gay kid during a time rampant with homophobia and strict acceptance on what a man should act like. it does have a major list of trigger warning so look at them first if needed but although i said the book is depressing -it almost doesn’t feel that way when you read it. like yes it’s sad and it’s hard reading it at parts and yes it starts sad and ends slightly less sad and i think there’s only like a year period of his life when things are actually happy? but the way he’s written the scenes feels different to me. certain scenes will strick for me (the dancing scene, eugene and the fancy meal with agnes, etc) but the characters just had character and they felt like people to me.
one of these being agnes herself someone who annoyed me so much with how she’d seemed to never try to get better for the kids she seemed to genuinely care for but alcohol seemed to just matter more in its control over her and yet even as she lived in pitshead and all of what happened she still had a pride that was almost inspiring if it didn’t mean it would only lead to her drinking more and pushing her kids away.
and yet when he’s young she relies on him so much that as he grows up we barely ever know anything about him as a person, there were few scenes where shuggie was just shuggie and his identity revolved around his mother -that you wouldn’t know something happened to him until it was referenced once in his narration when with his mother and yet at the end he’s changed and he finally has a friend -something he never had during the rest of the book, in fact most would be shown once and no longer appear and yet by the end he actually calls them a friend.
anyway it’s a good choice if you like a bleak read and i’d recommend for that but not really if you hate them because you’ll just hate this even more.
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Sexism, Drug use, Pedophilia, Cursing, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Classism, Rape, Death of parent, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Blood, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Death
madread8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Death, Grief, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Cursing, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Bullying, and Domestic abuse
leonkaspar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Cancer, Classism, Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Addiction, Medical content, Rape, and Sexual assault
mrslsmith's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Vomit, Addiction, Rape, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
alicefaye94's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Abandonment, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
corinnaxsophie'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
Spoiler
“The happy year” was just a tiny ray of sunshine in this book that disappeared way too quickly again. But the very end really touched my heart and i thought it was beautifulGraphic: Bullying, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt
lindsaylhunter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Addiction, and Bullying
aoifereadsbooks69's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Drug abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Grief, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, and Sexism
nicoleisalwaysreading'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
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Classism, Grief, Addiction, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Vomit