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cloulesss's review
hopeful
inspiring
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
3.0
mishale1's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
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? No
4.5
Wow. I can’t believe this book has been lingering on my tbr stack for so long and when I finally started reading it I could not put it down. I literally read the entire first half of the book before even putting a bookmark in the book.
This book is beautifully written and the characters feel so real. I can’t imagine anybody not loving sweet Kody. He spends most of his time with his grandmother and loves Golden girls and Dolly Parton. He’s the kindest, most loyal guy and he’s always the one taking care of everyone else. He doesn’t expect anyone to love him just as he is. He keeps the fact that he’s gay a secret because he doesn’t want to upset his grandmother who is his caregiver. Kody’s mom is absolutely heartbreaking. His mom has addiction issues. She’s not able to care for Kody or his little brother. She’s not able to care for herself. But Kody’s grandmother makes sure her daughter has food on the table, a roof over her head and that her utilities are on. And Kody tries his best to help his mother sober up. Poor kid. Kody does not get to be a teenager.
Kody lives in a very small town. It’s very poor, it’s very religious. Kody really doesn’t judge anyone harshly for anything. My heart broke for Kody, he’s good to absolutely everyone and expects nothing in return.
One day a stranger reaches out to him on social media and it changes his life in every possible way. I won’t spoil it by saying who it is or the secrets that get uncovered as a result. But the secrets do cause Kody to wonder whether his life can be more than it already is.
This book is very sad at times but very hopeful at other times and it’s just absolutely beautifully written.
This book is beautifully written and the characters feel so real. I can’t imagine anybody not loving sweet Kody. He spends most of his time with his grandmother and loves Golden girls and Dolly Parton. He’s the kindest, most loyal guy and he’s always the one taking care of everyone else. He doesn’t expect anyone to love him just as he is. He keeps the fact that he’s gay a secret because he doesn’t want to upset his grandmother who is his caregiver. Kody’s mom is absolutely heartbreaking. His mom has addiction issues. She’s not able to care for Kody or his little brother. She’s not able to care for herself. But Kody’s grandmother makes sure her daughter has food on the table, a roof over her head and that her utilities are on. And Kody tries his best to help his mother sober up. Poor kid. Kody does not get to be a teenager.
Kody lives in a very small town. It’s very poor, it’s very religious. Kody really doesn’t judge anyone harshly for anything. My heart broke for Kody, he’s good to absolutely everyone and expects nothing in return.
One day a stranger reaches out to him on social media and it changes his life in every possible way. I won’t spoil it by saying who it is or the secrets that get uncovered as a result. But the secrets do cause Kody to wonder whether his life can be more than it already is.
This book is very sad at times but very hopeful at other times and it’s just absolutely beautifully written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Racism
Minor: Murder, Pedophilia, and Racial slurs
jcd1013's review
4.0
I do love random library finds.
I really enjoyed this book. The voices were authentic and the story was heartfelt and complex. You could sense the despair of how rural white America is falling apart, but there was a lot of hope too. I also loved that it wasn't a romance - while Kody is gay, it's his relationships with his family and his friends that are the focus, and that's so rare in YA literature.
I really enjoyed this book. The voices were authentic and the story was heartfelt and complex. You could sense the despair of how rural white America is falling apart, but there was a lot of hope too. I also loved that it wasn't a romance - while Kody is gay, it's his relationships with his family and his friends that are the focus, and that's so rare in YA literature.
skorned's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I've not read a book about growing up around addiction that felt as real and complex as this in a long time. I also don't often read about overlooked rural areas and what it's like to grow up there while being different, and it just reminded me that those addicted to opiates are victims in a way we don't always talk about. Addiction hurts everyone affected, and the pain of this, the shame, the anger, the frustration are all real, but those people are still loved.
That's not all this book is about, though, and although the character of Kody talks a lot about his complicated feelings about his mom and her addiction, it's not a dark and depressing book. I felt like it did such a good job of handling these issues of addiction, racism (Kody finds out his family had a connection to a Black family that was pretty roundly rejected by some), religion, and hope for a future.
I know Kody's life looks really similar to thousands of real kids, and I hope that reading it would give us all a little more understanding of what it might be like to grow up in a place many of us haven't ever experienced first-hand. I would also imagine that for many, it would feel really validating to read about a kid trying to grow up while surrounded by some really harsh realities.
That's not all this book is about, though, and although the character of Kody talks a lot about his complicated feelings about his mom and her addiction, it's not a dark and depressing book. I felt like it did such a good job of handling these issues of addiction, racism (Kody finds out his family had a connection to a Black family that was pretty roundly rejected by some), religion, and hope for a future.
I know Kody's life looks really similar to thousands of real kids, and I hope that reading it would give us all a little more understanding of what it might be like to grow up in a place many of us haven't ever experienced first-hand. I would also imagine that for many, it would feel really validating to read about a kid trying to grow up while surrounded by some really harsh realities.
veiledmountainfury's review
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Wow,
It’s soooo rare to find an author who can accurately depict what it is like to grow up in Appalachia. Finding yourself in an area so stubborn in their ways can be difficult to say the least. However it and the people have their own beauty as well that often gets overlooked or ridiculed by others. This author tackles the bad and highlights the good with such a finesse. I’ve read other fiction that have tried to do the same but came across corny. This book was so genuine and I could not put it down. If you enjoy Margaret Renkls opinion pieces you’ll find a kindred Appalachian voice in Julia Watts through fiction.
It’s soooo rare to find an author who can accurately depict what it is like to grow up in Appalachia. Finding yourself in an area so stubborn in their ways can be difficult to say the least. However it and the people have their own beauty as well that often gets overlooked or ridiculed by others. This author tackles the bad and highlights the good with such a finesse. I’ve read other fiction that have tried to do the same but came across corny. This book was so genuine and I could not put it down. If you enjoy Margaret Renkls opinion pieces you’ll find a kindred Appalachian voice in Julia Watts through fiction.
ansate's review
5.0
this is the sweetest book. [return][return]You're on his side the whole way, and plenty of awful stuff gets thrown at him. If I had to have one complaint, it would be that Kody is TOO good - what teenage boy is so loving and awesome?? He cares about his family and his friends and tries to get along even though he knows he doesn't fit well. [return][return]I really appreciated that Amanda is fleshed out a bit and has some really good sweet moments as well as being such a mess. She felt like a full person, even from the teenager perspective we were given. [return][return]I cried, but at the sweetness, more than the sadness. [return][return]I'm going to hand off this copy to a teenager I know, and I think she'll like it.
harper_reads's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
4.5
A realistic & heartwrenching story of a young gay teen growing up in rural Kentucky with a mother who is addicted to opioids. I can't praise this story enough. All of the aspects of Kody's complicated life (his love for Dolly Parton & drag, his queerness, his mother's opioid addiction, the poverty of his rural Appalachian town, his divided family, the discovery of his Black half sister) could have felt too much and disconnected, but Julia Watts weaves them all together to present a vibrant, realistic teen just trying to figure out his life. Kody is instantly lovable and relatable, and the complex social, religious, cultural, and economic situation his rural Kentucky mining town finds itself in -- and the resulting effects of the opioid crisis on its population -- is portrayed with compassion. Only not a resonating 5 stars due to one plot point at the end that felt unnecessary and a little over the top, but still a book I wish everyone would read.
librerika's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
3.0
Pretty good ya about a gay teen growing up in rural Kentucky with an opioid addicted mother and loving but bigoted grandmother, but, as is unfortunately common in ya, there was kind of a lot of straight up explanations of social issues etc that took away from the sorry imo plus a touch of copaganda/pro-prison stuff, and I really didn't love the way the issues with race were handled