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adventurouspotato's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
I don't love coming of age stories generally, so I was a bit weary about that element. However, I was looking forward to experiencing the unique setting and mythology of British Columbia. Unfortunately, I got almost none of that from this book. Almost nothing supernatural happens until the last quarter of the book, and even then it is mostly just one scene, and then not really expanded on since the MC is not interested in learning about it at that point.
So what is this book about then? The main character, Jared, is the only character who isn't shitty except maybe Crashpad, Sarah (who is a total Manic Pixie Dream Girl), and the Jakses. This book is a series of (usually shitty) things which happen to the main character without enough time to dwell on any specific thing. There seems to be no real character arc or themes, it's just his life and he kind of just passively lives it. Many times he blacks out and time skips ahead and he's suddenly in a new situation without any context. This can sometimes be confusing timeline-wise.
It's realistic to show the chaos of life in this way I suppose but doesn't make for a compelling story. I wanted to see him realize that his mom was neglectful and abusive, or that he shouldn't be expected to take care of his dad's finances. He does set boundaries with his step-sister, but he does that from the start so nothing changes. There is not really any growth since in the end he still lives with his mom like nothing happened and gives his dad a bunch of money. I thought also he could have have an arc where he became more politically aware or interested in his culture through Sarah. I at least expected some sort of plotline where he discovers that magic is real and learns how to use it, or has to adjust to this new knowledge. There is just the barest glimmer of this at the very end, and he seems to be pretty apathetic about it.
I thought the ending was insanely rushed because all of a sudden Jared DOES have growth but it's all off page and the consequences are only shown in the very last (short) chapter. You don't see WHY he wants to change, he was just
If the character arc was good, maybe I could forgive some of the stranger choices in this book. But there are also so many small details that were painful to read. Why did his stepsister have to
In general I think "coming of age" is not something I generally enjoy because they are often like this. The main character has a shitty family situation, does a bunch of drugs, has awkward sex, and then a mandatory breakup at the end. The character, ideally, learns something from these experiences and asserts themself as an individual. This internal journey should be the focus, but often I find that the external events are all that are really captured. It's not enough to just present a character's suffering, there needs to be some internal thread which keeps the story together. The closest we get in this book is the constantly repeated refrain "The world is hard. You need to be harder." which Jared never seems to actually reflect on or question. It's just thrown in at tense moments verbatim... Seems like not the best message either??
Anyways I'm sure the sequel has more magical realism stuff but I don't think I can continue with this series. I cannot willingly inhabit the headspace of an axe body spray wearing teen boy in 2012. I can't take another awkward sex scene, extreme use of fake-sounding texting slang, or description of Sarah wearing Princess Leia cosplay every day for no reason. I just don't get it man!!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Self harm, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, and Blood
Minor: Domestic abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, and Colonisation
marlephant's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer
grey_jayne's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
No idea if I will pick up the next in the series, but it's not going to be for a while. This may be the first time where I recommend the adaptation over the original.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Self harm, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
manderine0's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Vomit and Gaslighting
mikaylaslibrary's review
3.75
The mixture of myth and modern was so well done, and I after watching the show it was very easy to picture evruthing that happened.
Ritchie and Maggie are so cute, and I'm glad that their relationship developed in a more positive way.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Blood, Dementia, Abandonment, and Alcohol
lmc_phd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Addiction, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Self harm
bradleyj's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Vomit, and Suicide attempt
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Cancer, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Vomit, and Cannibalism
madmadmaddymad's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
It’s kind of a magical realism coming-of-age story, with the twist that of course, is there magic? Or are the characters just experiencing drug induced hallucinations?
Well written and well executed.
Graphic: Animal death, Drug use, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Stalking, and Abandonment
Minor: Incest, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
the_wistful_word_witch's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Poor Jared's life is all kinds of fucked up, thanks to his parents - the biological and the non-biological - and the world around him - the physical and the metaphysical. Jared's too young to be so jaded and dealing with all the shit he's dealing with in this first book.
His world gets shattered in more ways than one, but there seems to be a big change coming by the end, hopefully for the better in the next two books. But since he's the son of a Trickster, that might not be so easy, if it's even possible...
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Gore, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cancer