Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

4 reviews

moonytoast's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death, Child death, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

zydecovivo's review

emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.0

I saw this recommendation on a list made by my library and don’t think I truly understood what was coming. This story is about grief and love. While there is a djinn, they essentially represent (and reflect) different stages of grief. The focus is more on the main character, Sana, and the cast of characters around her in her new home. She searches for the concept of love and battles demons (both literal and figurative). While it focuses on a teenager, this is much deeper than any YA book and I would not consider it such. The writing is beautiful, but it is a heavy read. Everything, even buildings, are given life. If you don’t have a lot of prior knowledge about Indian, Muslim, and East African culture, you may find yourself looking up the meaning of some words. But I appreciate the author integrating so many facets of life in an obviously diverse area and showing a glimpse of (fictionalized) history. My only critique is a lack of commas that interfered with comprehension sometimes, which could’ve just been my digital edition from my library. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Grief, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Murder, Animal cruelty, Death, Suicide attempt, and Colonisation

oliviamich's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

cas_reads_anything's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.5

This really packed a punch. I enjoyed moving back and forth between the two timelines and while some of the things depicted were absolutely horrific, it never felt like it was gratuitous or without purpose. This was like two stories woven into one. 

The first was a character study of an apartment building filled with haunted people, living in a (lightly) haunted building. Sana, the main character, is adrift after the death of her sister and mother. She investigates the residents of the building and its history, digging deeper and deeper until she discovers the horrific story of the builder of the home. 

The second timeline follows the original home builder, his family, and the tragedy that befalls them. It’s dark and ominous and you can’t help but root for the safety of the main POV in that timeline even knowing that things are not going to turn out well. Finally, the two timelines merge in an exciting and satisfying ending. 

This was beautifully written and haunting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Blood, Body horror, Classism, and Colonisation