Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal

23 reviews

hdunscombe's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Infidelity, and Car accident

leahgustafson's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I picked this one up because I needed something lighter and was really in the mood for something to fuel my excitement for summer. The Midwest, summertime, Up North vibes were spot on and made my heart so happy. Also, knowing and having been to the places referred to in a book always makes the reading experience more fun for me. 
•
I am a fan of books with multiple narrators and nonlinear timelines, and I read a lot of them. Unfortunately, the changing of perspectives and timelines in this one felt like we were really jumping around and did not flow cohesively. This format seemed to make the story more confusing, rather than adding perspective. 
•
There are some BIG, tragic events that occur in this book—be sure to check the content warnings. To be honest, I’m not sure they are all necessary to get to the heart of this particular story. Some of them just felt throw in. A few of the big themes/events are never fully developed and just sort of fall off. These feel like they could be ideas for other, separate books. 
•
Finally, some of the characters didn’t seem to match personality-wise with previous versions of themselves. Of course, people grow/change over time, but I didn’t find this kind of development well demonstrated.
•
I know people have absolutely loved J. Ryan Stradal’s other books, and I’d be willing to give those a try. If you’ve read this one or any of his others, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
•
Check out what I'm reading next on Instagram @LeahsLitReview!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Infertility, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Homophobia and Death of parent

baileyes's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

5.0

A beautiful multigenerational sorry that weaves the fabric of a family over the last 100 years

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Terminal illness

Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, Racism, and Abandonment

jo_22's review

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Awesome book- I loved the Minnesota setting and that it was centered around the supper club. Did a great job shifting character perspectives and time periods and it was really wholesome. Themes/focus areas of family & generations, small town culture, hardship & hope. I do wish there was a bit more parts tying some plot points together (ex.

Have Ned reflect on Mariel’s death or convo of Ned talking to Julia about Gus. More of Florence and Mariel after they reconcile, etc

) however @ the same time I do think there was strength and effectiveness in not focusing so much on the dynamics between characters after plot points occur and more focused on how each character deals with / lives their life with the weight/gifts/hopes of past generations. Plus it aligns well with the Midwestern/Minnesotan way of “things we don’t talk about”. 
I loved the last page— and overall the book made me reflect on and appreciate my family & generations before me. 
Really well-written.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Infertility, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Cancer, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Classism

librarianjennifer's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, and Miscarriage

purplepenning's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Grief, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Blood, Car accident, and Death of parent

karolinez's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Infertility, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, and Death of parent

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I really enjoyed this book, and I was impressed at how the author could so intimately describe the characters' emotions. It was also a really complex look at the characters, which made them feel really human. People are extremely imperfect and make mistakes that hurt people, but we can't easily put them into boxes that are as simple as "good" and "bad." Will definitely read this author again. He had some really good turns of phrase.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Car accident, Death of parent, and Outing

fuguballoon's review against another edition

I had to stop reading after the

second outing

(homophobia). It was too upsetting.

This is a character-driven novel, but ironically, most of the reader's insight into the characters comes via external action. I think the author was much better at writing Ned, the main male character, than any of the women. Some of the women's choices just didn't have the same clear motivations as Ned, and their characters were less consistent. (My pet peeves were Betty and Florence, who both read as classic narcissistic parents, but magically became thoughtful when it was convenient to the story, which--if you know any real narcissistic parents--is not a thing.)

Even so, this book wasn't badly written on a craft level. I just couldn't stomach the homophobia, and from reading the other reviews, it sounds like it was only going to get bleaker the rest of the way.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Outing

Minor: Domestic abuse

sydneynorman's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, and Violence