Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

10 reviews

spacedout_reader's review against another edition

2.75

I really liked the general style of the writing, but I found some of the characters, including Flavia, to be a bit inconsistent, and I felt like the mystery wasn't as tightly worked as it could have been.

also, in the middle section with the dad's backstory, the racism was pretty distracting. I get that it's a period piece in England, but as far as I could tell it didn't add any meaning to the story and overall just added unpleasantness.

I'm really not sure if this book is meant for tweens or adults, so I've added content warnings to my review as if it were for tweens (otherwise most of it would be pretty much par for the course in the mystery genre)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide

Minor: Torture

silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

2023 reread: I'm dropping the rating a tiny bit on this re-read, but that may just be because it was audio and narrator really overinflected a lot of Flavia's thoughts. Still an enjoyable story, and I'd like to both continue with a re-read of the series, and come back to this one in a non-audio format and see if it's the format or the repetition that dropped it out of the 'potential all time favorite' zone. 

Original review:
The only thing that could possibly make this book better (aside from maybe not activating my mild claustrophobia in a couple of scenes) is if I'd discovered it a couple of decades ago when I was eleven.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Suicide

Minor: Sexual assault

mint_julippe's review

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Racism

orchidlilly's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-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? Yes

4.25

An endearing and relatable character for young girls interested in science, plus she solves complex mysteries in a way that is scientifically accurate? Sign me up!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Medical content

Minor: Alcohol, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Classism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Drug use, Grief, Sexism, Suicide, and Racism

anniup's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, and Death

Moderate: Suicide

purplepenning's review

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping and Confinement

Moderate: Misogyny, Classism, Death, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal death, Colonisation, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Torture, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Sexism, Death of parent, and War

About halfway through the book there's a long monologue that features an extended depiction of racist stereotypes, with a few others scattered throughout.

thereadingsparrow's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide

emileereadsbooks's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I did struggle to get through it but that was more about me and my reading life than this book. 

Pros: I like how spunky and confident Flavia is. She is smart and the mystery element was very interesting. I feel like there was a good setup for relationships between characters to grow in the following books (which I will be giving a shot).

Cons: Flavia is a bit too cocky at times for my liking and her contentious relationship with her sisters bothered me a bit. 

The biggest reason I think this book is a "really liked" rating vs. a "loved" rating for me is that last year I read and fell in love with Myrtle Hardcastle. Myrtle and Flavia are very alike but Myrtle is more humble and virtuous, and I read her first, so I like Myrtle more. I do think that it would be a great book club for a group to read both the first Flavia and first Myrtle books and contrast and compare them. That being said, Flavia, because of the content, I would label as more young YA while Myrtle is firmly middle grade. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Bullying, Suicide, and Death

rishel's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Suicide

alainaev's review

funny mysterious slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement and Bullying

Minor: Suicide and Death