Reviews tagging Death of parent

Only on the Weekends, by Dean Atta

9 reviews

deadgirlwalking23's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, and Infidelity

Moderate: Drug use, Racism, and Cancer

Minor: Death, Transphobia, and Sexual content

pey333's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Death of parent

luananki's review

emotional hopeful reflective fast-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? Yes

3.5

i don’t know how to rate only on the weekends. i enjoyed most of the story but it hurt and made me angry in so many ways to see mack causing so much pain. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Racism, Cancer, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Drug use, and Infidelity

Minor: Transphobia, Death, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

laurataylor's review against another edition

funny medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Death of parent, and Alcohol

bookish_afrolatina's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

Only on the Weekends by Dean Atta is about gay Black teen boy named Mack going through some of the typical feelings one might in high school. He has crushes and acts silly with his crew. Mack befriends a classmate named Maz who happens to be the cousin of Mack’s crush, “K” (Karim). Mack and K grow closer and admit their feelings for one another but their bond is put to the test when Mack’s dad insists that his son join him in Scotland as he directs his latest film. On top of these usual challenges, Mack is immediately attracted to the star of the project, an actor named Fin (Finlay). Fin is generous and open with his affection towards Mack, unlike K. Mack is unsure of how to handle this new development after he thought he was happy with K.

Review:
I gave this book 3 stars because I can see how the representation on the page may positively impact queer teens today. Unfortunately, the plot dragged quite a bit and couldn’t keep my attention. It took me quite some time to finish this book despite it being in verse. While I can remember making dumb mistakes like Mack as a teen, reading about it was a bit annoying because I couldn’t connect with Mack. It seemed like his entire personality was focused on crushes, his dad/parents, and his friends. He didn’t have anything he really liked aside from wearing make up from time to time. It would have been nice to see him have something he’s passionate about. If that was make-up, maybe writing about Mack watching tutorials online a lot or doing his own. It just seemed like everyone else had a hobby or passion aside from him.

This book was just okay. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Infidelity, and Homophobia

leonormsousa's review

emotional inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Death of parent, Infidelity, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Racism, and Terminal illness

eschorrlesnick's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Alcohol, and Cancer

Minor: Transphobia and Injury/injury detail

nikexistiertnik's review

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Grief, Racism, Drug use, Infidelity, and Alcohol

Minor: Transphobia, Terminal illness, Sexual content, and Death

agathecadieux's review against another edition

emotional slow-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? Yes

3.5

ARC from Netgalley, Harper Collins Canada.

This was a beautiful read, as always with Dean Atta. The writing is incredible and the characters are lovely. I didn't connect as much with the story as I did with Black flamingo, and I didn't really liked the relationships, even though I think this was the goal of the book. I still liked this story and recommand it!

Ce livre était une lecture magnifique, comme toujours avec Dean Atta. L'écriture est incroyable, et les personnages attachants. Je n'ai toutefois pas autant connecté avec l'histoire comme ça avait été le cas avec Black Flamingo, et je n'ai pas vraiment aimé les relations amoureuses, bien que je pense que cela était un peu le but du livre. J'ai tout de même aimé l'histoire et je la recommande!

Thank you to the publishers for allowing me to review this book!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, Drug use, Fatphobia, Death, Grief, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship