thegreenship's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
itsmytuberculosis's review
5.0
this book was recommended to my by the one, the only, brian dudley who has never steered me wrong and managed to get 300 theatre arts majors to graduate on time in a pandemic. I would trust his judgement for anything so when I saw him hyping this book up on his Instagram story i legit got in my car, drove to the library, checked it out, and then came back and read it immediately in one go.
because i read this book point blank I had no idea what it was about or who the characters were. It was interesting to go into a book where I hadn't even read the flap at the front.
BECAUSE of this however, I thought that Donovan and Gideon were the same person for a couple of chapters. I thought that Leviathan was using the POV switching from first to third as a literary and metaphorical devise. Something to say about third person being used in order to have this sense of "out of body-ness" and strangeness when one is queer as a child.
Nope- they are just two different story lines!
I thought this book was definitely written in a way where anyone of any age can enjoy it. I loved how we stayed with Donovan the whole time during the book ban and never heard or saw any of the adult discussion of the book. We received only the vague answers that he got, and while as an adult we can interpret what is happening, I imagine a child reading this book who doesn't know how these things work, is taken through a similar route of not understanding the absurdity of being mad at a perfectly good book. Donovan also seemed to be a really healthy and emotionally well rounded child for having parents that seem to be emotionally stunted so - congrats to that.
As for Rick and Oliver, I was so invested in their jumping the shark (or should i say alligator) adventures and most importantly give a shout out to my past self who wrote huck finn/tom sawyer fanfiction when i was forced to read the books in school. those two WERE gay. rip to melody/becky you deserve better.
Adding Curtis as a gay student to the class I felt like brought about a lot of realism to the whole debate as well. How do you tell a child not to talk about their sexuality? You can't? They are going to figure it out weather or not you want them too.
I did have a bit of difficulty understanding WHEN this book was taking place. SPOILERS AHEAD: the reveal at the end with Mr. Howe being Gideon made some of the things make more sense, since he would have to be raised in the 90s and thus his story line makes more sense. But even for Donovan it wasn't until he mentioned TikTok that I knew it was in the modern age.
Overall, I think this book beautifully handled and discussed this issue of books in classrooms and being gay as a kid without minimizing the hurt or over emphasizing homophobia.
because i read this book point blank I had no idea what it was about or who the characters were. It was interesting to go into a book where I hadn't even read the flap at the front.
BECAUSE of this however, I thought that Donovan and Gideon were the same person for a couple of chapters. I thought that Leviathan was using the POV switching from first to third as a literary and metaphorical devise. Something to say about third person being used in order to have this sense of "out of body-ness" and strangeness when one is queer as a child.
Nope- they are just two different story lines!
I thought this book was definitely written in a way where anyone of any age can enjoy it. I loved how we stayed with Donovan the whole time during the book ban and never heard or saw any of the adult discussion of the book. We received only the vague answers that he got, and while as an adult we can interpret what is happening, I imagine a child reading this book who doesn't know how these things work, is taken through a similar route of not understanding the absurdity of being mad at a perfectly good book. Donovan also seemed to be a really healthy and emotionally well rounded child for having parents that seem to be emotionally stunted so - congrats to that.
As for Rick and Oliver, I was so invested in their jumping the shark (or should i say alligator) adventures and most importantly give a shout out to my past self who wrote huck finn/tom sawyer fanfiction when i was forced to read the books in school. those two WERE gay. rip to melody/becky you deserve better.
Adding Curtis as a gay student to the class I felt like brought about a lot of realism to the whole debate as well. How do you tell a child not to talk about their sexuality? You can't? They are going to figure it out weather or not you want them too.
I did have a bit of difficulty understanding WHEN this book was taking place. SPOILERS AHEAD: the reveal at the end with Mr. Howe being Gideon made some of the things make more sense, since he would have to be raised in the 90s and thus his story line makes more sense. But even for Donovan it wasn't until he mentioned TikTok that I knew it was in the modern age.
Overall, I think this book beautifully handled and discussed this issue of books in classrooms and being gay as a kid without minimizing the hurt or over emphasizing homophobia.
rach_wings's review
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
spring_lilac's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
An unique take on book banning, told in three story lines, including pages from the book being challenged. Having read this after reading Finally Seen, I was able to draw parallels between the two novels, with this being geared a little more for older readers.
stiino19's review
adventurous
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
wombat_88's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
justbkathleen's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
yarydoll's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
What if your parent trying to be the best parent they can be does the wrong thing? It's about standing up for the things that you believe in, especially in books. A very sweet read. Watch out for the three different and inter-related stories.