Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

63 reviews

lakeofstars's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

3.0

my dad gave me this book like five years ago bc he said he thought of me when he saw it and i think i was so offended bc of the title that i subconsciously put off reading it until now. 

this was an equal-parts frustrating and neat little sci-fi thriller. i didn't put it down once other than to solve the time dilation problem! 


misc thoughts/critiques:
- the first half was very tell>show, but this improved as time went on
- i wish we had more time with romy before the eternity, to connect with her and better understand her loneliness and subsequent excitement
- the fanfics were so short! i know that if they were longer it wouldve impeded on the story, but... a sixteen y.o. w nothing better to do writing half pages? 
- i rlly dont like the juvenile writing style most YA books have... felt like it took away from the story, and made the graphic scenes really jarring (and not in a good way)
- loved the portrayal of mental illness. that is what really made me understand romy's character.

[SPOILER-ISH]
- personally i found every twist Very predictable

and was quite frustrated with romy's naivete, but i understand that... of course she is? she doesn't have the same human experiences with selfishness and poor motives as the rest of us. but also. as someone w paranoia. I wouldve checked those files' physical source Before downloading.

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let's be honest, no way is NASA hiring that guy.

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i felt so happy for romy at the end.

super satisfying ending, but again i wish we had a bit More!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Confinement

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual content

kayshamarie's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Blood

kathygotpugs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Death, Stalking, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

kholmes510's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Violence

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Blood

michaelion's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

I love Romy. That's literally my baby girl child.

This is my second time reading so I knew what was gonna happen but it's been years. But the twists! The turns! I still have whiplash!!! 

And to all the baby girls out there, this should be required reading! Master manipulators / groomers use the same tactics J used in this book! Every girl is special and wonderful and need to trust their instincts! Romy doubted herself because she's a girl, because she thought she was a foolish child; but I need every baby girl to know that you are wiser than you realize! You can doubt the world but don't doubt yourself!!!

Such amazing thrilling writing. I opened the book at 3 pm and finished it by 11 pm! Then I went and added several of James' books to my TBR as soon as I finished this. Lauren James you will always be famous!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Confinement, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Grief, and Stalking

Moderate: Medical content, Vomit, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Self harm

Minor: Alcohol, Fatphobia, War, and Adult/minor relationship

kryskross's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Mental illness, and Death of parent

themorrigan43's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

emperor_aj's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Torture, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Death

Minor: Pregnancy, Medical content, Vomit, Stalking, Blood, and Alcohol

lucielvalience034's review

sad tense fast-paced

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

1.25

This book made me question my life and I would like to do a brain cleansing because of what I had to endure. I do not recommend this book to anyone unless you love tormenting yourself. XXX

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abandonment, Child abuse, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Abortion

he's not 24 ew someone help this literal child

micaelabrody's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

 read this serialized in "real time" via lauren james' substack from the summer sometime to now (i started late). i have no idea how i'd feel about it in book format but i know that the serialization made it drag a lot in places because of long gaps between entries, long periods of nothing much happening, etc. in a book that wouldn't be a problem since you'd just be able to turn the page. however, that long buildup did lend a strong sense of unease to the whole thing, yelling at romy through my screen to stop trusting j, etc etc - while the plot twists weren't groundbreaking they still had impact! had a good time with this, i'll definitely miss romy in my inbox every few days <3 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent