Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

9 reviews

ashlikes's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, War, Mental illness, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Violence, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, and Medical content

Minor: Fatphobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Drug use, Alcohol, and Homophobia

wanna_read's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Medical trauma, War, and Death

Minor: Mental illness

pansyseed's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, and Death

Moderate: Racism, Ableism, Medical content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Racial slurs, and War

Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Suicide

elisabethreads's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

1.0

Gay, and very stupid. I never want to read or talk about this book again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Medical trauma, Child death, Toxic relationship, and Ableism

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Mental illness

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Medical content, War, and Homophobia

amberpoelma's review

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

lovelyannalee's review

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Such a beautiful and poignant novel on friendship, innocence, and loss.  There’s not much else I can say other than I adored this novel.  Everything—the characters, the atmosphere, the descriptions—were so poetic and heartbreakingly real. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Grief

Minor: War, Ableism, and Homophobia

bird_song's review

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death, Toxic friendship, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Alcohol, and Drug use

Minor: Mental illness and Homophobia

kelly_e's review

dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

Title: A Separate Peace
Author: John Knowles
Genre: Classic
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: 1959

T H R E E • W O R D S

Luminous • Moving • Timeless

📖 S Y N O P S I S

A coming-of-age age classic, set at a boys boarding school in New England, against the backdrop of WWII, A Separate Peace tells the story of Gene, a lonely introvert, and Phineas, a handsome extrovert and an accident that alters each of the boys lives forever. A story of adolescence and friendship, of innocence and loss of innocence, and of human nature and seeking forgiveness.

💭 T H O U G H T S

This is a classic coming-of-age story I wasn't aware of until only recently when it was recommended to me. The writing and flow were easy to follow, and the character depth was well done. It's certainly a timeless tale that can transcend the passage of time. Gene & Phineas were both interesting characters and I enjoyed exploring the powerful nature of their friendship. The book also details the trials and tribulations of adolescence is a very real way - the jealousy, the guilt, the peer pressure - all felt reminiscent of my own teenage years.

The backdrop of the war morphed into the story with ease, and although it took a backseat, it was the perfect parallel to the loss of innocence experienced in adolescence.

My one criticism would be that it all felt a little too simple. Overall, a classic worth reading.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers who enjoy classics
• fans of The Outsiders

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"I could never agree with either of them. It would have been comfortable, but I could not believe it. Because it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Grief

Minor: War and Ableism

parttimerarebookdealer's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Mental illness