Meike’s review of John of John > Likes and Comments
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Thanks for reminding me that I need to read Shuggie Bain. I hope this one is good.
Karen wrote: "Thanks for reminding me that I need to read Shuggie Bain. I hope this one is good."
"Shuggie Bain" is amazing - I'm still flexing that I predicted its Booker win before the longlist was announced! :-) "Young Mungo" did not blow me away though, so let's hope for this one!
I enjoyed it immensely. Hope you do as well. 🙂
André wrote: "I enjoyed it immensely. Hope you do as well. 🙂"
Thank you, André!
I will be the first one out with pitchforks and blazing torches if this DOESN'T make the Booker 2026 longlist (at least!) I found it even better than Shuggie!
Doug wrote: "I will be the first one out with pitchforks and blazing torches if this DOESN'T make the Booker 2026 longlist (at least!) I found it even better than Shuggie!"
Oh, I have the highest hopes for next year's Booker, Doug: We have the wonderful Jarvis Cocker as a judge, an eccentric with eclectic taste, and I expect a stellar longlist. Come on, Jarvis, bring it!!!!
Is there graphic SA in this one? Pls spoil me
Melanie wrote: "Is there graphic SA in this one? Pls spoil me"
Nope, there isn't (as far as I can remember)! But there's physical violence.
I cannot believe you had the privilege of reading this book in advance.
No, I cannot believe you had the privilege of reading a Douglas Stuart book before its release. You might as well have won the damn lottery.
Julie wrote: "I cannot believe you had the privilege of reading this book in advance.
No, I cannot believe you had the privilege of reading a Douglas Stuart book before its release. You might as well have won ..."
I'm just upholding tradition: I've read all books by Douglas Stuart before their official publication.
I DNFd Young Mungo almost 100 pages in because it wasn't working for me. But I'm super intrigued by John of John and your review was super helpful too
GR gets more and more user-unfriendly every day. That is an absurd rule. What is the point? I am still intending to read this one, but I have also been intending to get to Shuggie Bain since it came out so my intentions apparently don't lead to action, at least where Mr. Stuart is concerned.
Sabrina wrote: "I DNFd Young Mungo almost 100 pages in because it wasn't working for me. But I'm super intrigued by John of John and your review was super helpful too"
I was also somewhat underwhelmed by Young Mungo, but this is so much better, IMHO!
Bonnie G. wrote: "GR gets more and more user-unfriendly every day. That is an absurd rule. What is the point? I am still intending to read this one, but I have also been intending to get to Shuggie Bain since it cam..."
I was trying to argue with GR support about this nonsense, but you know, it's Amazon, soooo... :-(
Stuart is great, Bonnie, you should give him a try!
Author Growth Specialist wrote: "Hey meike..I like how you handled this part especially the way you built the idea.
Have you noticed how your readers respond more to this style compared to your other posts?"
Tipp for the "author growth specialist": Don't spam reviews with generic, nonsensical posts, because this will not make your account grow, but get you reported (which I did, and I will not be the only one). And then you post in your bio "Focused on real connection, not spam" - you're really bad at your job.
Most interesting review. I will watch for this as Shuggie Bain was so good. Thanks for your thoughts
Kerry wrote: "Most interesting review. I will watch for this as Shuggie Bain was so good. Thanks for your thoughts"
Thank you for reading them, Kerry!
This should be marked as having spoilers. Thanks!
Pamela wrote: "This should be marked as having spoilers. Thanks!"
No, it should not - a book review needs to talk about a book, "this is so sad and beautiful and talks about religion" is not a proper discussion of a novel, it's shallow, unhelpful and obviously posted without any effort put into it. Thanks!
Meike wrote: "Pamela wrote: "This should be marked as having spoilers. Thanks!"
No, it should not - a book review needs to talk about a book, "this is so sad and beautiful and talks about religion" is not a pro..."
You are seriously one of my favorite people.
Bonnie G. wrote: "Meike wrote: "Pamela wrote: "This should be marked as having spoilers. Thanks!"
No, it should not - a book review needs to talk about a book, "this is so sad and beautiful and talks about religion..."
Thank you! :-) I'm so glad we met on here, it's so much fun discussing books with you, Bonnie!
Wonderful review. I hope it makes the Booker longlist.
Linda wrote: "Wonderful review. I hope it makes the Booker longlist."
Thank you, Linda, and I hope so, too!!
NILTON wrote: "Terrific review!"
Thanks, Nilton!
Great review but I do think a lot of the nuances of the plot are spoiled here!
Dyanna wrote: "Great review but I do think a lot of the nuances of the plot are spoiled here!"
It's pretty unhinged that on GoodReads, some people think that "all the stars", "OMG", and "it's a book about love" is a book review, and actually discussing the book is a spoiler.
I wish I had read Meike’s review before buying the book. I would not have bought it. Stories of people having to hide who they are is just so sad. And the strict religions anger me.
Betty wrote: "I wish I had read Meike’s review before buying the book. I would not have bought it. Stories of people having to hide who they are is just so sad. And the strict religions anger me."
That's confusing - so you're only reading happy books about happy people being happy?
What a great, thorough review! I’ve just finished the sample, and I’m reminded of John Boyne’s writing as well, who is a fave of mine. Looking forward to reading the complete work! Btw, that was not much of a spoiler, just a wink! Who didn’t know?! 🤷♂️
Gael wrote: "What a great, thorough review! I’ve just finished the sample, and I’m reminded of John Boyne’s writing as well, who is a fave of mine. Looking forward to reading the complete work! Btw, that was no..."
Thank you, Gael!
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Karen
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Dec 23, 2025 08:11AM
Thanks for reminding me that I need to read Shuggie Bain. I hope this one is good.
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Karen wrote: "Thanks for reminding me that I need to read Shuggie Bain. I hope this one is good.""Shuggie Bain" is amazing - I'm still flexing that I predicted its Booker win before the longlist was announced! :-) "Young Mungo" did not blow me away though, so let's hope for this one!
I enjoyed it immensely. Hope you do as well. 🙂
André wrote: "I enjoyed it immensely. Hope you do as well. 🙂"Thank you, André!
I will be the first one out with pitchforks and blazing torches if this DOESN'T make the Booker 2026 longlist (at least!) I found it even better than Shuggie!
Doug wrote: "I will be the first one out with pitchforks and blazing torches if this DOESN'T make the Booker 2026 longlist (at least!) I found it even better than Shuggie!"Oh, I have the highest hopes for next year's Booker, Doug: We have the wonderful Jarvis Cocker as a judge, an eccentric with eclectic taste, and I expect a stellar longlist. Come on, Jarvis, bring it!!!!
Is there graphic SA in this one? Pls spoil me
Melanie wrote: "Is there graphic SA in this one? Pls spoil me"Nope, there isn't (as far as I can remember)! But there's physical violence.
I cannot believe you had the privilege of reading this book in advance. No, I cannot believe you had the privilege of reading a Douglas Stuart book before its release. You might as well have won the damn lottery.
Julie wrote: "I cannot believe you had the privilege of reading this book in advance. No, I cannot believe you had the privilege of reading a Douglas Stuart book before its release. You might as well have won ..."
I'm just upholding tradition: I've read all books by Douglas Stuart before their official publication.
I DNFd Young Mungo almost 100 pages in because it wasn't working for me. But I'm super intrigued by John of John and your review was super helpful too
GR gets more and more user-unfriendly every day. That is an absurd rule. What is the point? I am still intending to read this one, but I have also been intending to get to Shuggie Bain since it came out so my intentions apparently don't lead to action, at least where Mr. Stuart is concerned.
Sabrina wrote: "I DNFd Young Mungo almost 100 pages in because it wasn't working for me. But I'm super intrigued by John of John and your review was super helpful too"I was also somewhat underwhelmed by Young Mungo, but this is so much better, IMHO!
Bonnie G. wrote: "GR gets more and more user-unfriendly every day. That is an absurd rule. What is the point? I am still intending to read this one, but I have also been intending to get to Shuggie Bain since it cam..."I was trying to argue with GR support about this nonsense, but you know, it's Amazon, soooo... :-(
Stuart is great, Bonnie, you should give him a try!
Author Growth Specialist wrote: "Hey meike..I like how you handled this part especially the way you built the idea.Have you noticed how your readers respond more to this style compared to your other posts?"
Tipp for the "author growth specialist": Don't spam reviews with generic, nonsensical posts, because this will not make your account grow, but get you reported (which I did, and I will not be the only one). And then you post in your bio "Focused on real connection, not spam" - you're really bad at your job.
Most interesting review. I will watch for this as Shuggie Bain was so good. Thanks for your thoughts
Kerry wrote: "Most interesting review. I will watch for this as Shuggie Bain was so good. Thanks for your thoughts"Thank you for reading them, Kerry!
This should be marked as having spoilers. Thanks!
Pamela wrote: "This should be marked as having spoilers. Thanks!"No, it should not - a book review needs to talk about a book, "this is so sad and beautiful and talks about religion" is not a proper discussion of a novel, it's shallow, unhelpful and obviously posted without any effort put into it. Thanks!
Meike wrote: "Pamela wrote: "This should be marked as having spoilers. Thanks!"No, it should not - a book review needs to talk about a book, "this is so sad and beautiful and talks about religion" is not a pro..."
You are seriously one of my favorite people.
Bonnie G. wrote: "Meike wrote: "Pamela wrote: "This should be marked as having spoilers. Thanks!"No, it should not - a book review needs to talk about a book, "this is so sad and beautiful and talks about religion..."
Thank you! :-) I'm so glad we met on here, it's so much fun discussing books with you, Bonnie!
Wonderful review. I hope it makes the Booker longlist.
Linda wrote: "Wonderful review. I hope it makes the Booker longlist."Thank you, Linda, and I hope so, too!!
NILTON wrote: "Terrific review!"Thanks, Nilton!
Great review but I do think a lot of the nuances of the plot are spoiled here!
Dyanna wrote: "Great review but I do think a lot of the nuances of the plot are spoiled here!"It's pretty unhinged that on GoodReads, some people think that "all the stars", "OMG", and "it's a book about love" is a book review, and actually discussing the book is a spoiler.
I wish I had read Meike’s review before buying the book. I would not have bought it. Stories of people having to hide who they are is just so sad. And the strict religions anger me.
Betty wrote: "I wish I had read Meike’s review before buying the book. I would not have bought it. Stories of people having to hide who they are is just so sad. And the strict religions anger me."That's confusing - so you're only reading happy books about happy people being happy?
What a great, thorough review! I’ve just finished the sample, and I’m reminded of John Boyne’s writing as well, who is a fave of mine. Looking forward to reading the complete work! Btw, that was not much of a spoiler, just a wink! Who didn’t know?! 🤷♂️
Gael wrote: "What a great, thorough review! I’ve just finished the sample, and I’m reminded of John Boyne’s writing as well, who is a fave of mine. Looking forward to reading the complete work! Btw, that was no..."Thank you, Gael!