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laura_corsi's review
5.0
OMG! This memoir punches hard! And the structure! This was a very difficult, even unpleasant, read at times, but it was also brilliant! TW: rape, abuse, suicidal ideation.
kdjellouli's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
jackiejackiejackiee's review
Although I understood the author's desire to unpack their internalized homophobia, I was bothered by his admission that he had sex with someone and they both were unwilling participants. Definitely something to be on the lookout for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
kimberlyf's review against another edition
4.0
Ooph, Broome has lived an incredibly sad and challenging life without much relief. Punch me up to the gods, the title, is a reference to Broome’s emotional response to feeling like he never belonged, never fit in. The concept of being “punched up to the gods” in order to recorrect himself, to start over as another person—a new person—was something Broome craved. Growing up a gay, Black man, there was hardly ever a time when he didn’t feel out of place at school, at home, or in his community. A heartbreaking memoir, beautifully written and constructed, that everyone should read.
jess_mango's review
4.0
Brian Broome grew up Black and gay in Ohio, a place where he felt like he never fit in. In his raw coming of age memoir, Broome tells of how he felt like a disappointment to his father and brother. How his mother came to sort of accept who he was and how he moved on to try to find a place where he felt more comfortable in his own skin. This is at once a memoir about Blackness, queerness and masculinity. Broome describes how when at gay bars, people who are "into Black guys" typically want them to be big and athletic, which is not what he is. He also shares his experiences with substance abuse and how that was used to mask his uncomfortableness at times. Broome's writing makes me feel like his confidante, although his life is so different from my own.
Two thumbs up!
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
Two thumbs up!
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
combepherre's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25