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bucketsofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes a family is so unable to reckon with their ability to sew dysfunction so deeply into the fabric of another person that the mere hint of it makes them break down. And you look at them, tearing themselves apart, and you can’t help but say “But hey, we had good times too?” even if you can’t always remember them.
jakestillwell's review against another edition
5.0
A rocky, tender coming-of-age story about a young man grappling with his race, social class, and sexuality that reminds us, with visceral detail, that growing up can hurt.
elanienneco's review against another edition
5.0
read this one for two classes and couldn’t shut up about it either time. writing is fantastic and has some very too real observations about growing up in poverty
hmonkeyreads's review against another edition
1.0
the best thing is that it is short.Bleak and depressing. Not my kind of book at all.
untetheredwords's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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
4.5
amberbunnag's review against another edition
4.0
sometimes you're gay and your parents are fucked up and your childhood is made of a handful of memories that seem disconnected but actually all slide along the same string. sometimes they bump into each other, but god it hurts when they do. you can't look at them all at the same time, you hold the string taut to keep them apart, and meanwhile you act so so so normal. meanwhile you can't meet anyone's eyes. you're so busy holding that string.
atcucchetti's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Pick this especially if you want to be awash in first person sensory moments. The feel of a pack of siblings celebrating the joys and wants and confusion of childhood while the realities of poverty and societal indifference lurk and hunger just beyond the edge of understanding. I didn’t read this book. I experienced it. So viscerally real are the descriptions of brotherly antics, childhood love, and the complicated feelings of otherness.
This is Why I Read. My personal experience couldn’t have been more different from the character in this book, and yet. So much of it rang true and resonated for me as the only girl in a collection of three siblings. Be prepared. The emotional end arrives hard and fast leaving you deep in your feels.
eaborum's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0