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Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'
The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal
6 reviews
jordan_noel's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
I was expecting this book to be about three sisters reuniting while grieving over their newly-deceased mother. I was not expecting so many important societal issues to follow.
This book talks about the patriarchy (specifically in India), MeToo and women's rights movements, female feticide, marriage, spirituality, and how to connect and adapt to different situations in order to preserve the most important relationships.
I loved these characters and grew closer to them as they slowly learned to trust one another and deconstruct the difficulties of their childhoods together. The only real flaw to me was that the characters didn't feel entirely real as they began to transition into a better relationship with each other. It was close, but just not quite there I don't think.
Overall, I thought this book was great and necessary for anyone learning to sacrifice a bit of their pride to repair lost connects with people they love.
This book talks about the patriarchy (specifically in India), MeToo and women's rights movements, female feticide, marriage, spirituality, and how to connect and adapt to different situations in order to preserve the most important relationships.
I loved these characters and grew closer to them as they slowly learned to trust one another and deconstruct the difficulties of their childhoods together. The only real flaw to me was that the characters didn't feel entirely real as they began to transition into a better relationship with each other. It was close, but just not quite there I don't think.
Overall, I thought this book was great and necessary for anyone learning to sacrifice a bit of their pride to repair lost connects with people they love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Abortion, Sexism, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Racism
Minor: Police brutality, Rape, Alcoholism, Cursing, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse
There is a section of the book (maybe 1 page detailing the event and 10 pages mentioning it) about police brutality. In this same area, a group of girls recite sexual assault statistics and detail a rape that occurred recently in a major city---it's very news-like. One character has an alcohol dependency, but it's only really mentioned in the first third of the book and she's making efforts to escape it from the time we know her. One character is in a toxic relationship and experiences emotional and physical abuse. There are heavy instances of misogyny and sexual harassment for the characters once they're in India.drawmeabookreview's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Gaslighting and Infertility
Minor: Terminal illness, Cancer, and Suicide
saliwali's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Suicide, Abortion, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Medical content, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Mental illness, Animal death, Bullying, and Grief
claudia_bow's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, and Terminal illness
abbie_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
I picked up The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters and was immediately hooked! I devoured 200 pages of it on Sunday and finished it last night, it’s a really addictive read with a good mix of character development and page-turning plot.
.
It follows three British-born Punjabi sisters who are undertaking a journey to India at their mother’s last request. Anyone who loves books centred around sibling relationships, especially sisterhood, is bound to enjoy this one! All three sisters are very different and all are burdened with secrets and troubles they’re trying to keep hidden from one another.
.
One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was how Jaswal explored the disconnect between the sisters’ Punjabi heritage and the country they grew up in. At one point, Rajni, oldest by around a decade, talks about how she spent her teenage years trying to quash her culture and fit in with white western ideals while still being subjected to racist remarks from her peers. But by the time her sisters were that age, on the other hand, being of a different ethnicity was considered ‘trendy’.
.
I’m not sure it’s one I’ll remember forever, but it pulled me out of my binge-watch hangover and for that I am grateful!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Terminal illness
whatannikareads's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5/5!
i thought this was such a lovely emotional story about sisterhood, womanhood, and motherhood. this book takes you on a not-so-perfect journey around india, in the efforts to fulfill these three sisters' mother's last wish for them. but the sisters aren't close—both for current reasons and for troubles in their childhood, and the journey becomes a test to see how long they can last this trip.
i really enjoyed how the conflicts of the sisters' traumas and current situations unravels. each sister is really well-developed and feel like real people. it's also a lovely little travel escape since we're all stuck at home (although it does have the irritating elements of family vacations we're all familiar with). i teared up towards the end bc women are so strong and can get through it if we listen and support each other!!!
it's not a straight 5 bc there is one relationship that i couldn't get myself to justify, and i felt that the mother's reaction to it was reasonable bc i really don't think it was ok even in real life ****POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT***** the age difference was too much for me and if it the genders were flipped we would NOT be having it, so i think that bit was a little unnecessary.
other than that, it was a really nice story that i think you'd enjoy if you have sisters, if you're first gen (especially first gen Indian), and/or if you're coping with the loss of a loved one.
i thought this was such a lovely emotional story about sisterhood, womanhood, and motherhood. this book takes you on a not-so-perfect journey around india, in the efforts to fulfill these three sisters' mother's last wish for them. but the sisters aren't close—both for current reasons and for troubles in their childhood, and the journey becomes a test to see how long they can last this trip.
i really enjoyed how the conflicts of the sisters' traumas and current situations unravels. each sister is really well-developed and feel like real people. it's also a lovely little travel escape since we're all stuck at home (although it does have the irritating elements of family vacations we're all familiar with). i teared up towards the end bc women are so strong and can get through it if we listen and support each other!!!
it's not a straight 5 bc there is one relationship that i couldn't get myself to justify, and i felt that the mother's reaction to it was reasonable bc i really don't think it was ok even in real life ****POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT***** the age difference was too much for me and if it the genders were flipped we would NOT be having it, so i think that bit was a little unnecessary.
other than that, it was a really nice story that i think you'd enjoy if you have sisters, if you're first gen (especially first gen Indian), and/or if you're coping with the loss of a loved one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
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