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_meganrose's review
medium-paced
2.5
2.5 ⭐️ This was.. odd. Could be in part that it possibly lost some meaning in translation? Enjoyed some of the coming of age aspects of this, and other parts were a bit out there for me. Not my cup of tea.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Excrement
maricela's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Eating disorder, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Suicide
areen's review against another edition
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Eating disorder
Moderate: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Rape
julesceasara's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Gross but I guess that was most of the plot. The fact they were 10 years old was kind of Ick. However it was a very quick, engrossing read. For the life of me I can’t figure out the ending like wtf actually happened and I can’t find any mention of it online I feel like I’m losing my mind. Did someone die? Or not? Like I don’t know, and it seems like no one else does either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Excrement, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria
Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
llorona's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Dysphoria
lilmisssouthernyn's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Vomit
Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Excrement, and Toxic friendship
abbie_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
Tween girls being a tad feral - I know this word is overused a lot these days when a book is about women/girls doing things slightly outside the accepted norm, but to be fair, one of them does shit in a box and blame it on a dog.
Abreu does an excellent job of conveying the atmosphere of a sleepy village in the Canary Islands, the heat of the summer, the volcanic landscape, the striking disparity that exists between locals and tourists. We follow two girls, Isora and Shit (yes, idk either), who embody toxic tween girl relationships. They constantly cross boundaries, obsessed with one another, then enemies, leading one another to dangerous situations, being each other's be-all-and-end-all, not speaking for days, weeks. There are physical fights, awful first sexual experiences, overwhelming feelings.
And yet, all that, and I felt slightly at a remove from the text itself. I agree with some other reviewers that the girls often came across as older than they were, though I'm also aware that girls are forced to grow up quicker than boys.
Crude and atmospheric, vulgar and sticky.
Abreu does an excellent job of conveying the atmosphere of a sleepy village in the Canary Islands, the heat of the summer, the volcanic landscape, the striking disparity that exists between locals and tourists. We follow two girls, Isora and Shit (yes, idk either), who embody toxic tween girl relationships. They constantly cross boundaries, obsessed with one another, then enemies, leading one another to dangerous situations, being each other's be-all-and-end-all, not speaking for days, weeks. There are physical fights, awful first sexual experiences, overwhelming feelings.
And yet, all that, and I felt slightly at a remove from the text itself. I agree with some other reviewers that the girls often came across as older than they were, though I'm also aware that girls are forced to grow up quicker than boys.
Crude and atmospheric, vulgar and sticky.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Excrement
Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence
iratih's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
An amazing book about love, friendship and sexuality during childhood <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death
faunodecetimmolare's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Ha sido una lectura incómoda, nerviosa y terriblemente desgarradora en algunos puntos. Como le he escrito a la amiga que me lo recomendó: de un realismo potente. O, lo que es lo mismo, terrible de lo tremenda que es.
Comienza ominoso, y por un momento, cuando aún no has confirmado la edad de la narradora, piensas que quizá vaya a ir de bulimia, de los horrores del convertirse-en-mujer, de las relaciones homoeróticas entre dos amigas que viven aisladas del mundo. Va de eso, claro, de la envidia y el enamoramiento que siente la protagonista por Isora. Va de dos niñas que en sus juegos son siempre mayores, pero siempre pegadas la una a la otra (como un “pack de yogures”). La narración tiene sabor de muerte, pero porque la presencia de las abuelas, las tías solteras, las viejas del barrio, las que compran en la venta, son la imagen de fondo al desarrollo de la historia. Aunque las protagonistas sean niñas-a-punto-de-dejar-de-ser-niñas, las viejas dan forma al mundo interno de estas: la Chela, tan chupada, tan amargada, con sus dietas perennes, sus manía por la delgadez que contagia a las chicas, o la abuela, tan perceptora y nutricia, pero igual de alejada, incapaz de entender lo que le ocurre a su nieta. Viven rodeadas de viejas y hablan como viejas, pero sin la experiencia de viejas.
Qué crudo, no el lenguaje, sino la vivencia, la niñez. Qué crudo y qué real cada escena, metáfora de pensamiento unida a lo obsceno y cotidiano. La metáfora que rompe la idealización romántica y traduce la realidad a términos que la entendamos. Y un final abrupto en el que no se menciona la muerte, porque lo que no se nombra no existe, porque de esta forma aún sobrevive el último verano prepúber de las dos niñas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual content, Vomit, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Gaslighting
james1star's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was okay I guess, I’m not too sure really on how to review it in all honesty. It certainly started well and you get the sense from page one Abreu is not going to hold back. Whilst it’s a little (well lotta) unpleasant to start a book with a girl making herself throw up, I did actually love the rawness and no-self-control aspect of these characters, preparing myself for a no-shits-given read. The book is all from the POV of an unnamed ten year old girl given the nickname ‘shit’ by her friend Isora and their poverty-ridden life in the hills of Tenerife. The first three quarters of the book just follows these two as they go about, not really doing much and it’s for sure more of a character-driven novel. I did like this to start and Abreu does give us a good character study and represents the harsh life of those living in Tenerife with a big divide between the locals and tourists well. But… it does get a bit much after some time with repetitive scenarios of gross bodily functions with the reading experience becoming quite uncomfortable and sickening to be frank. She presents female sexuality, puberty and growing up in an raw light which I appreciate but it does get too crass. I don’t mind crass books and can forgive them sometimes but the more it went on I didn’t get any sense of a true message or crux to it so maybe she was just adding these in for the sake of it? The book leads up to a climatic event and onwards I really began to dislike it more so, I don’t think the topics were presented all that well and it’s just quite an irritating read.
Like I said, this is quite a difficult book to review because I think the translation is really what let it down. I’ve read lots of reviews (well more so the comments on these) and it’s apparent those who read the original Spanish rated it higher and it was received better there. This is a book that is meant to be representing poor Spanish women in the Canary Islands so when I, a working class cis-presenting man who’s lived my whole life in London, reads this I can’t grapple the culture and life to the best of my ability. That’s not to say I can’t rationalise and see things from other’s perspective but maybe some books just aren’t meant to be translated and possibly this is the case for Dogs of Summer which is a shame. The nuance of Abreu’s craft in regards to the story and character studies was likely lost in the translation process. However, there still are some Spanish-speaking reviews that rated it low.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Excrement, and Vomit
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, and Classism