Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

A Mark on My Soul by Jordon Greene

24 reviews

whatslreading's review against another edition

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2.0

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_kayreads_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-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

4.75

I gave this a 4.75

It was such a wonderful story. Honestly, it was so sweet and then the heartbreak. I knew it wasn’t going to be happily ever after about half way. 

I was sad when they broke up but I was utterly devastated with Parker died. I knew his parents were going to hurt him worse than anything. 

I cried while Noah reading Parker’s letter and his finale visit to his grave. 

I hope to learn that Noah is okay. I know he will never forget Parker but still. I felt that it just ended and I wish for more closure a bit. 


But that’s life, I guess. I am still going to read the second book but thank you for making me ugly cry. 
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ctwntn's review against another edition

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emotional 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

3.25

A book that starts as a sweet love story that turns into unnecessary heartbreak. 
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mnmmorgan123's review against another edition

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emotional sad

0.25

This book is the reason I read trigger warnings now. 

The biggest beef i have with this book, is not that it triggered the worst panic attack of my life while driving, but the timeline and use of exact dates. In particular
the funeral took place on
"Sunday" February 25, 2019. My beef is that my friend committed suicide on Feb 24, 2019 and that day is burned into my memory as most definitely being Sunday. Every date in this book is correct, except when we get to Feb and somehow the days of the week don't match the dates. 
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stackedboxes's review against another edition

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

2.0

The problem that I have with this book comes partially from the book itself and partially from the author.

This is definitely an emotional read and deals with very real topics, however, I just can’t escape the odd writing style that feels somewhat elementary.

Additionally, there are many times when casually racist moments occur. At times the book even feels homophobic in that it excludes other identities that aren’t skinny gay white men. Examples of this are littered throughout this book and even more so in the author’s other titles. In his other works, the black best friend is almost exclusively referred to as “sassy” EVERY TIME.

The pacing also falls short for me. There are many times when the author focuses on things that feel unnecessary or like they were left in for padding.

I just can’t excuse the harm that this book may do or the weird writing style/tone it uses. The story itself was decent but I can’t help but dislike it overall because of the aforementioned issues.
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justalittlebookish's review against another edition

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funny sad slow-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

3.0

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evelynyle_88's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Okay.. A Mark On My Soul. Another 5⭐.

At first, I thought this book and the story was cheesy and I was giggling through the reading experience. But, as soon as I deep dive into the story more and more, the doubt of Noah of coming out to his parents and how they would react, I can feel it.

But, it turned out to be all okay. I love Noah's parents so much. But, on the other side... for Parker, wasn't that easy. To have such outdated, conservative, homophobic family... I can feel him, too. It's stressful enough for him and it was really really draining.

In the reading process... I often stop, then continue. Stop, then continue. I just wanted to finish this amazing book. But, I know this is the most draining out of the three Jordon's books I've read before. It turned out to be all sad and devestated.

It's surely has a devestated ending, but... one thing I know... I will keep Parker Lee Evans inside my heart. I will never forget him. If he's Noah's mark on his soul, it means... Parker was also a mark on my soul.

Thank you, Jordon for this beautiful devestating story and Parker, thank you for existed. I will forever remember and cherish your life and legacy. You are loved, Park. Remember that. Many people support you.
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klarasbuchblock's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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mis_chievous's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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jupiterlee's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.0

I am not usually a fan of friends-to-lovers stories, but I will admit that this one was sweet. 

I feel that friends to lovers is often the most expected and stereotypical, but Parker and Noah get to go through an experience together and worked for these characters. I did feel that at times they were "younger" than they were; Noah turns 19 in the book and I had a moment of being like "oh, I forgot and thought they were 16ish". Now that isn't a massive issue but I felt at times that Parker or Noah were not acting there age, and put it off to them being younger but then I remember that they should have a bit better understanding for each other at times. 

However saying that, the plot of this book is very realistic to what some LGBTQIA+ teens will go through, and I believe this adds a huge amount to Greene's book. They are not just teens dealing with accepting they are gay, they are navigating school, homophobia, religious parents, outdated thinking, figuring out where they want to go in life and more. 

 

One thing that this book navigates, and it certainly makes it heart-breaking, is suicide. This is a topic that is hard to portray accurately I feel, but Greene knocked it on its head. Parent's not accepting their child is one of the most heart-breaking reasons for LGBTQIA+ suicides and it is something that is still very prevalent today. It also touches on the horrendous aspect of church "counselling" and conversion therapy. My heart just broke the second half of this book, but this was the reason I gave it an extra star than I was intending because it is topics that people need to hear about, but can be too raw and hard to write. Greene used these topics to bring awareness, but I must say I am glad it was not from the perspective of Parker as I do not think my heart could have handled that as Noah's heartbreak was bad enough.






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