Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu

13 reviews

brogan7's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

This is a difficult book, and yet told through the eyes of a child.  A family decides to relocate from Kabul to Australia.  Their journey is not just challenging, it's deadly and demeaning and unusually cruel.   Government policies set far away have extreme consequences on these families and individuals, trapped in a camp, in limbo, not knowing their status, constantly being offered a return flight to Afghanistan.  After all their torment to get as far as they have!  The family's distress is palpable.  The author refers to pills everyone is taking, to sleep, and this part is a little muddy in terms of what exactly the refugees are being given, and whether they're addicted to these pills or what. 
 
The writing is sparse and poetic.  The character development is excellent.  If I see one small drawback, it's that huge plot points emerge late in the story, and it feels like neither the characters nor the reader have time to absorb them.  Maybe that's more like real life, but as a reader I felt projected out of the story.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Grief, Child death, Suicide, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia

rly's review

challenging emotional sad 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Deportation, War, and Police brutality

kbhenrickson's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death and Racism

Minor: Death of parent

moriahleigh's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Racism, Suicide attempt, Deportation, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Child death, Suicide, and Racial slurs

bookishcori's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Deportation

Moderate: Grief, Death, Suicide attempt, Blood, War, and Mental illness

laurareads87's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? No

4.0

On Fragile Waves follows the lives of an Afghan family -- two parents and their two children -- as they journey from Afghanistan to Australia and find that the country is not welcoming and peaceful in the ways that they'd hoped or expected.  From a precarious boat ride to immigration detention to sexual and racist harassment to the threat of deportation, the novel focuses on the precarity experienced by one family seeking safety and is not an easy read.  I will say that I question the shelving of this book as 'fantasy,' and based on some of the reviews I expected a much more experimentally written book than I actually got.  An infuriating and heartbreaking read; this doesn't read like a debut novel -- definitely recommend.

 gender-based violence / intimate partner violence

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, War, Child death, Death of parent, Suicide, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Islamophobia, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: Domestic abuse

larbster90's review

challenging emotional informative sad fast-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? No

5.0

I don't cry at a lot of books, but I cried at this one. Excellent storytelling style.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Child death, Police brutality, Violence, Death, and War

anxiousnachos's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A must read for Australians or anyone wanting to know more about the Australian refugee situation. This is a very lyrical, very confronting look at the situation through the eyes of a young child as she and her family escape the war in Afghanistan and journey to Australia via Nauru. The innocence of the voice contrasted to the really shocking horrors faced in such a powerful way. There’s also a touch of magical realism weaved through, with this person Firuzeh imagines back from the dead to “eat her nightmares” as a way of dealing with her fear which I loved the imagery of. 

Content warnings: war, refugee camp, refugees attempt to reach Australia via boat (note:

a child dies in this section of the plot)

, racism, Islamophobia, military/police brutality, child death, suicide, domestic violence, death (of child; of parent)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Self harm, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, and War

mandkips's review

challenging emotional sad 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and Racism

Moderate: Self harm, Death of parent, and Suicide

Minor: Death and Suicide attempt

5aru's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Grief, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death of parent