Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

134 reviews

vatodd's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

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

4.5

I enjoyed it. I think the plot was a bit over complicated. It felt like the story was often more about Calvin than Elizabeth and I think that was a disservice.

The Calvin parents mystery/reveal felt unnecessary and shoehorned because maybe the editors didn't think people would be interested in Elizabeth alone and I think that was wrong. I think focusing too much on Calvin and his struggles overshadowed Elizabeth and the theme of women being undervalued

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Pedophilia

haysebecca's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely fantastic, I'm pretty critical of books, and no issues DNFing something, but not once did that thought even cross my mind. I truly feel this is a book that everyone should read.

Lessons in Chemistry is icredibly well written, the pacing is amazing the characters are all fully formed and no one feels like a cardboard cut out. 

The reading experience is fantastic, some books you read because you want answers to something, or because you like a singular character, but some books you read because they flow so well that you basically float through the book. This is one of those. 

The Author uses multiple POVs, and does an amazing job of it, never once are you asking why someone's thoughts are relevant or quationin who it is that your reading. 

The story comes full circle, nothing is left dangling, no threads are untied, and the ending is *chefs kiss*. You close the book feeling like it's complete, and wanting more, but aknowledging that anything else would ruin the finality and drag too long. 

All of the (main) characters are very well written, and almost feel like friends. They have flaws, they have quirks, but most of all, they're very human and very well developed. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Suicide

Minor: Pedophilia and Racism

ofi's review

emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

i thought the six-thirty pov episode of the series was the saddest thing i’d ever seen but then i read the book every single line in his pov is much much worse. six-thirty i would give my life for you

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Death, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, and Forced institutionalization

daumari's review

dark funny slow-paced

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

4.25

 4.5, but I'm actually going to round down on this one. I liked it, but I'd also say Six-Thirty the dog is maybe the most likeable character (followed by Madeline though I can see how her precociousness could be off-putting).

At times, I almost felt like I was reading satire of the era with all of the blatant sexism Elizabeth faced because it read cartoonishly over-the-top to me, though I do think that's part of fiction, to exaggerate experiences. Also maybe of-the-period but took me out a bit: this is southern California; where are the Latin@s and Asian folks?? (I know, white folks tend to hang out with their own but we do flip through povs of women watching Supper at Six- maybe some of those families were brown, who knows).

But, I do like Elizabeth's abrasiveness and insistence on things being correct and meritocratic (even if societal structure is not). She strikes me as a little neurodivergent and I'm not sure if that's intentional (Bonnie Garmus's goodreads question replies indicate she was aiming more for classical stoicism). I think part of why this book is so popular is because the message of being taken seriously resonates with a lot of women even today. We STILL see thinkpieces about the value of domestic labor (though I think there's a wider recognition that childcare and rearing are fulltime jobs- see Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change). When Elizabeth's spiraling in the newborn haze, Harriet reassures her that nothing is wrong and that also rung true.

Calvin's origins did remind me of The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade, and I felt like this aspect could've been baked a little bit longer as it abruptly was revealed in the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death of parent and Death

Minor: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Grief, Suicide, and Pedophilia

mammd's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Pedophilia

lil_saddie's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Holding two truths at the same time: I enjoyed many aspects of this book and think the story telling was quite good with so many threads being woven together expertly and always taking Zott as deadly serious as she took herself. I enjoyed how fluidly the story could change POV and narration to give so many perspectives. 
Some spoilers further:
However, I wish I had checked for content warnings before reading because there are considerable themes of SA. I’m struggling with how necessary these multiple scenes and  references were as a plot point since this wasn’t based on a true story. I know it was incredibly common in the workplace without consequence in a way  that we have improved somewhat as a society today. But for a modern audience when 1 in 6 women have faced SA personally, who is the audience this narrative is trying to convince the severity of the situation to? We know the realities, and Zott being mistreated in the workplace without SA as part of the story feels like it should have been impactful enough. Not to mention how glossed over instances of pedophilia was for male characters. I guess in sum o feel those very triggering topics could have been handled bett

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Sexual assault, Vomit, Sexism, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Suicide

Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Car accident, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Child death, Animal cruelty, and Toxic relationship

redheadorganist's review

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Suicide, Blood, Death, Grief, Sexism, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Vomit, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Car accident, and Homophobia

Minor: Pedophilia, Child death, and Abortion

jaylene's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I have no idea why it took me so long to pick this up. I love Bonnie Garmus' writing style, it's not your typical storytelling as it felt very cinematic with multiple POVs in one "scene." Lessons in Chemistry's characters are easy to fall in love with, especially our brilliant and headstrong main character and, of course, Six Thirty. The growth of her list of characters didn't feel forced or confusing even when meeting most of them in the last 1/3 of the book. Most importantly, topics of sexism and trauma were handled with such care but felt accurate for the time period.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, and Bullying

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Death, and Abandonment

I would with how many content warnings I added, I would say sexism is the only one that is scattered throughout the entire story. It sounds like it is heavier than it really is.

gracielou2000's review

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Drug use, Child abuse, Death of parent, Infidelity, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, and Car accident

Minor: Fatphobia, Abortion, and Addiction

emimero's review against another edition

inspiring 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

4.5

Wow wow wow ! Finally something different. Bonnie Garmus really created something special here. It's not your typical romance book, it has so much more to it, women's conditions in the society, being different, strength and solidarity,.... It is way better than the show (which is good too by the way) but the details, the characters are so loveable and the plot keeps you going because again, I've never read something like that I truly don't know what's happening next ! Definitely recommend to read this gem ! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Rape, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Death, Grief, and Misogyny

Moderate: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Suicide, Grief, Gaslighting, and Homophobia