melodyseestrees's review against another edition
emotional
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
3.0
June's crush on her gay uncle, and later his boyfriend, was not handled super well. Every adult in her life pretended to not see it or treated it in a very "oh ho ho she'll grow out of it" way. This inappropriate crush on adult figures is a way neglected children reach out for attention. As June and her sister are left to their own devices during tax season you can really see where the susceptibility to substance abuse (alcohol and cigarettes) and need for adult attention comes from. This acceptance/ignorance of the crush gives the story an incest or 'attraction to minors' feel when it was June primarily reaching out for romantic attention and the adults around her redirecting her but not outright rejecting her.
Spoiler
There is a scene where she kisses an adult on the mouth or fantasizes about doing so. June pretends Toby is her lover when she takes him from the hospital via taxi to her home, where he dies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Homophobia, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Gaslighting
Minor: Pedophilia, Racism, Ableism, Hate crime, Incest, and Adult/minor relationship
About 88% through the book it is mentioned that 'the wolves in the woods' were several feral dogs that ended up being shot. It was an unnecessary detail.nicoleme1212's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol and Homophobia
atamano's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Grief, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body shaming, Alcohol, Drug use, and Medical content
micklesreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
This book was unbelievably good. Through June's eyes, I felt like I was a teenager again, when everything is changing and everything is life and death, except for June and Finn and Toby, it really is. This was an incredibly moving book that I'm going to be thinking about for a long long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Terminal illness, Grief, Alcohol, and Death
carlytenille's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Alcohol
cgoiris's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.25
This book ripped my heart out of my chest, tore it to pieces, stomped on it and then glued it back together again more than once. The author does a wonderful job of observing and envoking some of those feelings of what it's like to grow up and how your relationships change, it's hard not to feel it to the core.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Death
Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism
Minor: Violence and Sexual violence
anniey's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
3.75
this was a very nice book. my biggest issue was that though the author says it is an adult book, it definitely feels YA, and young YA. the main character felt very young and it lessened my enjoyment a bit. I also didn’t mesh with the writing style very well. My favorite part was the sister dynamic, which felt very authentic. I also loved the late 80’s setting and the songs that were sprinkled throughout. overall, i enjoyed the book, but I think I would have liked it a lot more if I was a teenager.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol
callikat's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Alcohol
talonsontypewriters's review
The writing itself is beautiful and the characters are interesting enough, but the weird incest tones (and a vague inclination that that is going to move toward an extremely shitty "forbidden love" comparison to gay relationships, which might be me being hypervigilant but, from a glance over other reviews, does seem to crop up) and dubious handling of HIV/AIDS-related topics is making me think it would probably be better to drop this earlier than later.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Incest, and Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse, Racism, and Ableism
Teenage protagonist is infatuated with her adult uncle; there is no reciprocation, but her feelings are still covered in depth. Death of a family member due to AIDS. Period-typical negative attitudes about AIDS. Brownface is mentioned and the R-slur is used in passing. Underage drinking in at least one scene.
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