A review by stierwood
Real Life by Brandon Taylor

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Everything about this book made sense. It had me thinking about whiteness in communication and friendships, and Wallace was a character exploration i had never read anything like. At first i was like ok, enough with the birds, but by the end i feel like i got it. Just really freaking astute, gutting, challenging, everything.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol