Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Flamer by Mike Curato

10 reviews

rhiannon814r's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

This was a good read! It was very slice-of-life, when I had expected it to be more plot-driven. The art was great and was perfect for telling the story. I don’t know how to describe it. Maybe I’ll be able to write a better review when I’m done SOBBING.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia

Moderate: Racial slurs, Self harm, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Child death, Cancer, Fatphobia, and Outing

Spoiler

There was a happy ending (or at least a satisfying conclusion where nothing terrible winds up happening to the main character), but the book as a whole was heavy.

alisazhup's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Body shaming

Minor: Self harm, Outing, and Pedophilia

pich's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective tense fast-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

2.75

(2.75 leaning towards 3 stars) 
i really liked the symbolism behind the fire, even if it was pretty simple. i think the story started to pick up more towards the middle, but i still liked it. the religious themes were definitely pretty relatable, for me at least.

Spoiler

obviously the scenes involving masturbation made me uncomfortable, but i’m glad they didn’t drag on for an unnecessarily long time. i would’ve liked for ted to have had another appearance, maybe with a letter of some sort delivered to Aiden.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Bullying, Cursing, and Homophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Sexual content

Minor: Body shaming and Racial slurs

spookieboogie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Body shaming, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Racial slurs

Minor: Blood, Cursing, Self harm, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

joisaddler's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Self harm, and Cursing

davidbythebay's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

This was very nice and encompasses some different perspectives than a lot of the mainstream LGBTQ material out there. First, the main character is a questioning Asian-American male. This is definitely an underrepresented demographic. Second, he knows he's gay but can't really admit to it. This is so incredibly relatable. Additionally, we have the Christian angle where our MC is struggling with his faith. This scout camp being homophobic is also another perspective we don't always get. Finally, we have the lovely aspect of mental health wherein our MC is struggling but doesn't appear to be diagnosed with anything outright. How his faith and inner self help him through is a big portion of this book. 

This is a story with no ending and a number of dangling threads that still feels complete. That makes this a wonderful story to foster discussion and introspection - some of my favorite kinds of LGBTQ+ material do this. Overall, this was delightful and provides a unique point of view on coming to terms with being gay, but not coming out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Violence, Bullying, Homophobia, Cursing, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

zoes_human's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

4.5

Between home stresses, racism, and bullying, Aidan is already in a state of chaos as he attends Boy Scout camp in the summer between middle and high school. In addition to now facing a change in schools, his sexuality is starting to emerge in an unanticipated manner and he faces a crisis of hope. Heartbreaking but hopeful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, and Homophobia

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Fatphobia and Sexual content

ritareadstrash's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, and Bullying

Moderate: Racial slurs, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Body shaming

marywahlmeierbracciano's review

challenging emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

 Expertly drawn, and presented in grayscale with bits of orange flame, Flamer is a magnificent addition to the YA graphic novel canon.  It follows Aiden, a Catholic Filipino, camping with his Boy Scout troop over the summer before high school.  He struggles with his parents' abusive marriage, his body image, and the way he feels about his best guy friend, Elias.  Not to mention he's constantly being bullied, if not for his race or weight than for his "abnormal" behavior.  I really appreciate the way his relationship to Catholicism is explored—Aiden has taken his faith seriously for his whole life, but instead of letting himself be proverbially burned at the stake for his sexuality, he'll step into himself and rise from the ashes.  This is the story of a boy who—against all odds—finally finds the courage to be himself 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Fatphobia and Body shaming

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Domestic abuse

bookenbee's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Homophobia, Bullying, Cursing, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Self harm