Reviews

Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon

april864's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

theo_rosie's review

4.0

Shit just shit. This was my family and would have been my life if I was born 50 years back in time. This book was truly a time capsule dedicated to the town that is in my blood.

remmslupin's review

emotional 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? Yes

4.25

misskodiereads's review

5.0

queer historical fiction is all i really need in life. but seriously i cried quite a few times, and there is a lot of triggering stuff in here that i wasn’t totally prepared for (to no fault of the author- i read the blurb before ordering but then the shipping was delayed quite a bit so i just forgot about it) that was a bit hard to read at times, so be warned. (racism, homophobia, violence, etc.) I do think this is an important story that needs to be read.

rubberrosebooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

4.5

maiiiphobic's review

5.0

Absolutely heartbreaking but beautiful story, can’t really get my thoughts straight right now but I just want to say please to however is planning on reading this book, Read the trigger warnings and take care of yourself <3

ezismythical's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad 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? It's complicated

3.0

_bookgremlin_'s review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.5

miloblue's review

challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

This book was super hard. There’s a lot of violence and self-harm and racism and internalized homophobia. That said, it is set at a super interesting and important time in queer history… and by extension American history.  Though fictional, it’s a part of history that we didn’t really study in school, and that certainly adds some context. 

There is also a lot of music and pop-culture woven through the book, with the main characters listening to a lot of records and finding affinity with David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Aladdin Sane, among other albums.

As of this writing I’m giving it 3.75 stars, and I’m really not sad that I read it, but it’s a heavy one, to be sure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Racial slurs, Bullying, and Homophobia

Moderate: Self harm and Alcoholism

Minor: Sexual violence, Police brutality, and Murder

camrinsversion's review

emotional inspiring reflective 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

3.0