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miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
D:
This was so fun and heartbreaking and cute and made me so intensely afraid
So well written and the audiobook was really good too
It felt actually original which isnt that common in a lot of popular fiction atm (not trying to attack other books was just impressed by this one)
Oh yeah and also while reading this book (about nightmares) i consistently had nightmares (which is rare for me) so i think this book is magic
This was so fun and heartbreaking and cute and made me so intensely afraid
So well written and the audiobook was really good too
It felt actually original which isnt that common in a lot of popular fiction atm (not trying to attack other books was just impressed by this one)
Oh yeah and also while reading this book (about nightmares) i consistently had nightmares (which is rare for me) so i think this book is magic
‘On the bright side, the fact that Abernathy has no choice means this must be his destiny.’
‘In some cultures its god you find in the dark, in Abernathy’s culture it is only fear.’
‘Love moved through her with violence’
‘How embarrassing that is, attempting to hold something and realising it is too heavy to carry.’
‘How does one even prove the absence of something?’
‘Is there worth in the things you cannot see?’
‘What if i wake up everyday and forget who i was the day before’
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Grief
slefebvre95's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexism
savvylit's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind is a truly terrific anti-work novel. In writing this, McGhee has created an uncomfortable sci-fi setting that feels nearly plausible and also perfectly illustrates the pitfalls of unethical employment. Abernathy as protagonist is a comically gullible and often unlikable young man. His naivete tiptoes the line between believability and satire in a way that kept me riveted throughout. Clearly, McGhee has a deep understanding of American work culture and the desperation that many feel when it comes to finding literally ANY job that may offer a sliver of stability. Though the job that Abernathy accepts is fantastical in nature, it serves as a perfect stand-in for any one of the myriad jobs in this country that ask employees to give up way too much of themselves.
Thank you @astrahousebooks for the advance reader copy of Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you @astrahousebooks for the advance reader copy of Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Death of parent
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
I loved this book so much. It is like a cross between the TV show Severance and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness and Suicide
alisonvh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I liked this book, but I didn’t love it. I might have to sit with it for a while to decide how I feel about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, and Kidnapping
not_another_ana's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher
Jonathan Abernathy is trying his best, but with an insane amount of debt and no job he's drowning. When he's offered a job in a dream, auditing the dreams of American workers to make them more productive, he jumps at the opportunity to tackle his problems and maybe even make something of himself, unaware of what really lurks underneath and the specifics of his job.
An interesting critic of capitalism and the American Dream, this book sucked me in. Earnest, quirky and touching, this is one of the more intriguing and different books I've read in a while. Jonathan Abernathy is such a delight of a character, I found myself relating a lot to him. His situation is one that many of us have been in, with his sincere way of thinking and his lack of self confidence ringing true and so very human. He wants to do good, succeed, improve, but the system he's trapped in needs him to stay down.
The dream auditing was a captivating idea. As someone who dreams a lot, having someone in there judging and cataloging sounds like such a violation of my privacy and my existence that did alarm me. I do wish that the author had dug deeper into the mechanics of it, perhaps showing more dreams and the process of auditing them. While I gushed about Jonathan, he did get on my nerves a bit. I understand his naiveté and its importance to the plot but it got to a point where I was rolling my eyes a bit. The pacing could have been improved, it took a little too long for my taste to get to the meat of the plot.
Jonathan Abernathy is trying his best, but with an insane amount of debt and no job he's drowning. When he's offered a job in a dream, auditing the dreams of American workers to make them more productive, he jumps at the opportunity to tackle his problems and maybe even make something of himself, unaware of what really lurks underneath and the specifics of his job.
An interesting critic of capitalism and the American Dream, this book sucked me in. Earnest, quirky and touching, this is one of the more intriguing and different books I've read in a while. Jonathan Abernathy is such a delight of a character, I found myself relating a lot to him. His situation is one that many of us have been in, with his sincere way of thinking and his lack of self confidence ringing true and so very human. He wants to do good, succeed, improve, but the system he's trapped in needs him to stay down.
The dream auditing was a captivating idea. As someone who dreams a lot, having someone in there judging and cataloging sounds like such a violation of my privacy and my existence that did alarm me. I do wish that the author had dug deeper into the mechanics of it, perhaps showing more dreams and the process of auditing them. While I gushed about Jonathan, he did get on my nerves a bit. I understand his naiveté and its importance to the plot but it got to a point where I was rolling my eyes a bit. The pacing could have been improved, it took a little too long for my taste to get to the meat of the plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, and Death