Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Real Life by Brandon Taylor

21 reviews

charliesbookshelf's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

best read this year so far.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

jillaay_h's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

mr_cain's review against another edition

4.75

All too real. Rips your heart in two and forces you to confront how you exist in the world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Body shaming, Drug use, and Eating disorder

_puberty2's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This is a beautiful piece of prose, especially for a debut novel. I blew through it in 3 days and was genuinely glued to the story. I just want to hug Wallace and be a friend to him that will treat him like an actual person, Brigit was the only real one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Body shaming and Eating disorder

lillyll's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

It's really hard to make up my mind about this book, but no matter what I can definitely reccomend reading it.
Real life is a lot of things, it shows the intricacies and nuances of a friendgroup the underlying rivalries and fights.
It shows the casual cruelty that originates from the insecurity of not knowing your place or who you are.
Especially in that  suspended period of studying that us not quite real life, where evrything is something between a game and the grand scheme of things and no one knows how hits supposed to go.
The not knowing where it all leads, wanting to start fresh and maybe live your life better, now that you know and the impossibility and inescapability of that.

Real life shows how past trauma can transfer into the present and how it affects relationships with others. And especially for the maincharacter Wallace this is a relationship threaded with violence and kindness and it's very heartbreaking.

And this is before we start  talking about Wallace himself, he's kind of caught up in his past and present, not really belonging to his friends and alienating himself. The casual racism he experiences in his lab, from hid friends. 
You'll feel frustrated, angry, desperate and heartbroken but at the same time seen. That is if you're in that same period of studying and total insecurity.
And my only issue is that it was a little heavy on the lab and biology descriptions and the tennis technique.
But besides that this was an incredible read with absolute beautiful writing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Body shaming and Death of parent

mourtarymaggots's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

mabelb's review against another edition

reflective sad tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual content

Moderate: Homophobia and Death of parent

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

kers_tin's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Body shaming, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Misogyny and Suicidal thoughts

nkeshyy's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Honestly, this book has been torturous to read. There's so much level of masochism and self-harming in the way that Wallace stays in situations that require him to leave (which is to say, vvhite spaces). But at the same time, how do you leave something when you've convinced yourself that it's all you have to offer and receive? I keep saying Yho! And crying. I cry for this boy y'all 🤣. It's just a very sad book. It's a very confrontational and fucked up story. Brandon Taylor had no right. It's too raw. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Racism, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Gaslighting

ktkate's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexual content, and Vomit

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Misogyny