Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan

12 reviews

stacylaughs's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Bullying

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Blood, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, and Body shaming

Minor: Animal death and Death of parent

grunbean's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Before picking this up, I looked through the reviews and saw this described as a modern Salem Witch Trials. I think that’s the most fitting way to describe it.

This was a can’t put down book for me. I picked this up on a whim, and it exceeded what I thought it was going to be. Dark in a way you can’t expect, incisive when it comes to commenting on the state of our world and where it’s going, and with an unexpected humour. I would really recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Murder, Addiction, Animal death, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault

saric7's review

dark tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Mental illness, and Murder

becca_thegrimreader's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

It may be the dream to live in a nice house in the suburbs for many people out there. Well, for me, after reading this book, I would run a million miles away. 

Maple Street, the picture-perfect suburb in Long Island, is nothing as sweet as its title. Here, families are loving, with children who grow up with the potential for greatness, and parents who push them every step of the way there. With the recent addition of the Wilde family, the balance is offset. Arlo Wilde is a former rock star, Gertie is a beauty pageant queen, Julia is wild, and Larry is seen as an outsider. Then comes the night when a sinkhole opens in their park, and a girl from the neighbourhood falls in. And the mother accuses Arlo Wilde of something deeply sinister. 

This was an enjoyable book with a lot of twists and turns along the way. It took me a while to understand why it was set in 2027 and 2040 but knowing that global warming and the damage we have done to the environment are why. The author discusses the effect we have had on our planet, and that in 2027 we are finally seeing the results. If you want to know, read the book, it’s not a pretty future ahead of us. I thought this was an interesting choice, and I’m glad that the stark reality of our future is shown, but I wish it had been more clear from the start. 

The story itself is shocking. What appears to be an accident turns into a widespread hate campaign with an angry mob. Through the spread of gossip and false stories, we see the disastrous consequences of peoples’ lives being ruined forever. The residents of Maple Street lose all sense of sanity, and even in excerpts from the future, many remain adamant they did the right thing. 

A good book, but one that didn’t have me sitting on the edge of my seat. We are told at the beginning that there is a murder, and for fans of thrillers, it is a little predictable. The narrative changes between characters, and while this is well done, there were characters who I felt lacked depth due to little time in their mindset. Some had difficult and upsetting backgrounds, and though discussed, were left in the background. I think that if this had been explored more we would have gotten a better sense of the character, what made them who they are today.
I received this book from Titan Books and Netgalley. My review is unbiased and completely honest. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

valeriasshelf's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Blood, Mental illness, Murder, and Pedophilia

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship

jennivardier's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Violence

tofufun's review

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Alcoholism, Animal death, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

jourdanicus's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Animal death, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Pedophilia

Minor: Medical content, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Rape

imstephtacular's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, Violence, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Chronic illness

annareads9898's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug abuse