Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton

40 reviews

fantasery's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

librosdenopal's review against another edition

really slow and almost too much description and side stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

rhiannonhoward's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

niltic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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? No

5.0

WOW! Rollercoaster read about a young boy coming of age in a family/community where drugs, crime and mental illness are prevalent. Once I started, I could not read this book fast enough. The story is surprising, raw, funny, and dream-like, with very vivid, lovable characters. Central mystery veers uncertainly into magical realism at times, but it doesn't matter because this plot's only there to give the story something to hang off. Felt very at-home with the Australiana of it all too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Drug abuse

Minor: Mental illness and Grief

The most complicated feelings are around family in this book--highs and lows! Biggest concern areas would be

parental neglect/abandonment, death of parents/carers and domestic violence

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erebus53's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

I picked up this book because the name was familiar and I saw that it had been adapted for Netflix (but my eyes are bad and I didn't feel up to watching TV). I went in having no idea what it was about and wow.. what a trip.

This tells a story set in suburban Queensland, Australia in the 70s-90s (a time that coincides with my own formative years). One of the main themes is focusing on detail and the way the author depicts this childhood brings back a huge number of sense-memories for me. Stubbies shorts, Burger Rings packets, sticky vinyl car seats, heat haze on bitumen roads, eating pineapple rings from Golden Circle cans...  spelling words upside down on calculators, rats-tail haircuts, Ninja Turtles Tshirts and school bags with band names written all over them, and even the brand of cheap plastic pens and the names of the supermarkets, had my brain buzzing with resonance.... less so with the gangs and criminals, thankfully.

Apparently, according to the notes at the back, this book is semi-autobiographical. The language used is no holds barred and rich with Australian profanity. If I had a buck for every time a child swears and then is told off by a swearing adult I'd have enough to buy pizza tonight. I guess given that parts of this book are more than 40 years ago this is almost "historical fiction" which is hammered home by the complete lack of cellphones, specific cameras and torches, and the telephones are for.. yknow, calling people? Not to mention that people still rely on actual Newspapers. Old school.

As a story about growing up with unable parents and in traumatic circumstances, there are parts of the story that are delivered unreliably. The main point of view is from a traumatised boy and his older brother who is mute. There are dreams, visions and prophecies that I am always a sucker for. The story is told poetically with key lines that repeat. The action is tense and at times unhinged, telling of connection, redemption, mental illness, morality and garden variety pain.

I really enjoyed this book. It was the sort of story that I wanted to put down at times, and just sit with and think over. Lots of weird stuff happened, and the unpredictability and predictability walked hand in hand down a content warning list as long as my arm.  Parts of it were utterly grotesque and parts of it were trippy, and all up it was satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Minor: Racism and Fire/Fire injury

kayleejanes's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

kiwichill's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted reflective sad tense 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

3.5

A tragic but funny book about growing up in a chaotic household where there is alcohol and drug addiction and domestic violence.  Parents are friends with ex criminals.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Torture, Medical content, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting

juju_432's review against another edition

adventurous 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? No

4.0

Boy indeed swallows universe 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship

biggiantloser's review against another edition

dark 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? No

5.0

i thought about taking half a point off for the last paragraph.. because i really didn’t need or want that. but it was a really good read that captured me from start to finish so i will forgive it’s crime in this instance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Alcohol

mother_of_theo's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The start of the book is a bit slow, the story picks up at about page 150 and is well worth the read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail