The Guncle - Becca In A Book

Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is honestly a bit out of his league.

So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick’s brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian.

Despite having a set of “Guncle Rules” ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old.

Quickly realizing that parenting—even if temporary—isn’t solved with treats and jokes, Patrick’s eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you’re unfailingly human.

(Goodreads Summary)

My Thoughts

I’ve seen this book around on bookstagram a time or two and was just captivated by the cover. It is so colorful and bright and seemed like a perfect book to get into during the summer.

I mean…. A gay man that used to be on a sitcom, living in Palm Springs, acting as the guardian to his niece and nephew….. How could you not instantly want to purchase this book?

I honestly thought this book would be a light read based on the cover and of course I went into it completely blind. I was right, but I also was VERY wrong. This book was HILARIOUS and fun and a great read for summer, but it also had some very deep and dark moments throughout all the humorous guncle rules this characters dishes out with every chapter.

Patrick is a very complex and interesting character. He portrays himself as a light and breezy person with no cares or worries, but that is the part he shows to the world. The side that he hides from the world is coping with a tragic loss that would make anyone want to break down and move to Palm Springs. He pretends that he is hiding from the world and retired because he is done with acting and wants to be left alone…. We quickly see that this is just an excuse for him to hide his grief and his only way to cope with his crippling loss.

I mean his plan isn’t half bad, it’s not the healthiest way to deal with grief, but who am I to judge?

He also believes he can’t possibly be the guardian to his niece and nephew, but omg can he be my uncle?

The kids give him the name Guncle or Gup and the story is a whirlwind from there. Not only do the kids learn and grow with their GUP, but they also manage to heal Patrick as well. They have so many wonderful moments of bonding, learning, and growing together. These entail a pink Christmas tree in the middle of summer, some very random pool toys, and a broken actor award.

This book is a barrel of laughs that made me run to the bathroom in fear of peeing my pants. I’m obsessed with this book.

There are so many wonderful laughs in this book and it made me ugly cry in the best way. I just want to hug this author because reading this book even helped me with some of my own personal issues going on.

It couldn’t have come at a better time and I am so thankful to the author!

If you haven’t read this book, get off your lazy bum and learn some guncle rules STAT!