Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Juno Loves Legs by Karl Geary

12 reviews

342718's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

“‘I buried myself in the woods today. Covered myself in flowers and pretended to be dead.’ She raised her pen a moment and thought, then went back to writing in cursive that could rival Sister’s.

‘You should always wait for late spring to die, Juno,’ she says then. ‘The flowers are better.”

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

hkrobock's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, and Alcohol

ladystardust1979's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Sexual assault and Car accident

kellyinbookland's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Death of parent

carolinajane's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

sawshiwen's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual assault

dizzzybrook's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• 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

3.0

I'm extremely conflicted as to how I feel about this one. I wanted to love this so bad but just.. didn't. I think somewhere along the way, I was under the assumption that this book was going to focus on the friendship between the two main characters but the majority of the story is about just about Juno. I prefer character driven stories over plot driven ones, and though this is a character driven story, I felt as if the insight into both Juno and Legs's characters was very bare bones and somewhat surface level. A lot of things happen in this book, but I didn't particularly feel as if I knew either Juno or Legs on a deeper level, rather I was just able to empathize with their stories. There is some very beautiful writing throughout which made the reading worthwhile, however, I did not enjoy the pacing and I'm generally not the biggest fan of time jumps. Oddly, I felt as if Legs was a relatively small part of this book which I'm not sure was the intention. It didn't feel as if the author ever fully demonstrated why Juno and Legs cared for each other as much as they did which greatly hindered my interest in the story. Per usual, I had too high of expectations, but would still definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy Irish literature.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism

travelseatsreads's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

Juno Love Legs is a coming of age story which follows a young adolescent girl, Juno, as she painfully navigates who she is and who she will soon become. Alongside Juno, we also get to see the story of Legs, her faithful childhood friend, as their friendship blossoms into a stunning display of platonic love. Set in bleak and sorrowful Dublin during the 80s, the book details the many struggles they face but also the many amazing experiences they have along the way.

While set in those bleak and poverty stricken streets of 1980s Dublin and reeking of the stench of the Catholic Church and its vice-like grip, the book somehow manages to maintain an air of hope and beauty that you cannot resist smiling at. This is carried by a stream of beautiful and colourful characters alongside some simply stunning prose.

Geary has woven an evocative, vivid and immersive telling of the stories of those kids who just don’t fit in, who are made of pure grit and stubbornness that somehow manage to dig themselves from the dirt they were landed in to create something so much more.

I never cry at books, in fact I could probably count the number on one hand, but this left me devastated with more than a few tears. I implore you to read it but with the warning and promise that it will break your heart in the most stunning of ways.

"Even horrible people can have their hearts broken."

If you enjoyed this review come follow me on Instagram @TravelsEatsReads for more

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Grief, and Alcohol

pomoevareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

4.5

I was given an opportunity by the publisher to read this one prior to publication date but had an overcrowded reading schedule at the time and didn’t get to it. On a recent trip to Powell’s Books in Portland I made sure to buy a new copy to read. 

Reminiscent of Young Mungo, Juno Loves Legs brings the reader to the Irish Catholic landscape of the 1980s. Juno, whose mother is an underpaid seamstress and whose father is an alcoholic mechanic, befriends a bullied boy named Sean at school. As preteens, Juno nicknames her friend Legs and the pair of misfits stand up for each other on numerous occasions at school when the nuns or priest are cruel. After an incident results in Legs leaving the community, Juno writes but doesn’t send letters to her best friend. 

Written in three parts, Juno Loves Legs follows Juno as she navigates life with an unstable home life and later on her own. The story focusses on the pair as they come together again and on the challenges thrown at them individually and together. 

The raw tenderness in this friendship was beautiful and I experienced much sadness for the hardships and discrimination against them. Geary has written characters that will crystallize themselves into your memory. As awful and truly disgusting as John Jr. was and as gracious and generous Missus H the librarian was, all of the characters rose from the page for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Homophobia and Death of parent

Minor: Terminal illness

jamesdaniel's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Abandonment