Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett

3 reviews

grunbean's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

I picked this up as it’s one of the ‘weird girl’ book recommendations I kept coming across on my TikTok feed. It’s a weird girl book, but the first weird girl book I’ve read that portrays family and and generational trauma like this.

If you’re looking for a book where lots of things happen, this isn’t for you. This is a book that is about people, and I really loved how it’s the family and not events that carry this. It will hit home if you’ve coped with generational trauma or felt tied down by your love for your family.

However, I’m still wrapping my head around the parts with the cicada.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, Cancer, and Death

vvabecca's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Very good but oi

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Torture, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Violence, Vomit, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Confinement, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Drug abuse, Lesbophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

ecn's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.75

Nothing about this story was resolved and not in a fun way. So much and so little happened that it dragged on. Easily could have been half the length. I wanted to know SO much more about every character and we were given nothing. I felt like i was a therapist sitting with a client trying to help them organize their stories and getting nowhere. The flashbacks were disjointed and only added to the trauma and grief that ran through everything but never fulling etching into to the main character’s personality, only explaining why she’s shut off.
The ending also seemed extremely abrupt. Too much was trying to be resolved in a matter of DAYS and the characters glossed over so much and so much was implied that it seemed impossible and unrealistic for them to be how things would unfold.
This book had so much promise but ended up falling so flat. I wanted more for and of every character but wasn’t given a fraction (felt very indicative of how they were treated I’m sure - maybe it’s stylistic).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Vomit, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Death, and Alcohol