Reviews tagging 'Grief'

And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin

16 reviews

spaghettii's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

I have no doubt that some of the story went over my head, what stood out most to me (besides the ending,  ofc) was that Leila would rather believe in an apocalypse than that she killed her family

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Blood, Cannibalism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Gore, Grief, and Mental illness

levilore_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

5.0

Wow. This book caught me by surprise as I normally don't read sci-fi or psychological horror. The pacing was well done, the way the story was told gripped me immediately, and the ending was satisfying in a way that makes me speechless. 

I was reminded of The Things They Carried and 28 Days Later while I read this, so if you like media similar to those then this book is for you. 

I'm surprised how much I feel and how little I have to say, another rarity for me. The shorter length was perfect for the story and I honestly wouldn't change anything about this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Grief, Violence, Gun violence, Blood, War, Murder, Alcohol, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore

Minor: Pregnancy and Car accident

bowlingforboots's review

fast-paced

1.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Forced institutionalization

iamastraythought's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.25

If you liked this book you should watch the movie "they look like people"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Gun violence

haleybre's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Child death, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Death, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

dev921's review

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Alcohol, Death, and Death of parent

kermit_the_wrong's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Graphic: Cannibalism, Gore, Confinement, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Forced institutionalization, Death, Mental illness, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child death, and Murder

emzhay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

Moderate: Gaslighting

cheye13's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I was already so intrigued by the premise of this, but it surpassed my expectations. I don't think I was ready for how meta the story would get with discussions of "the narrative." Quickly rocketed to one of my favorite books. It's one of those that I think I'll get more out of with each reread.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Xenophobia, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

body horror and gore typical of zombie media; moderate description of implied postpartum depression; repeated reference to instance of mass murder, not in detail; the pandemic/epidemic takes the form of mass hallucination which may be reminiscent of forms of schizophrenia and/or psychosis, but are not literally intended to be depictions of such

killmoore_'s review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Go into this one as blind as possible. It's worth it.

A spin on the "infected" trope that left my jaw on the floor. Beautifully written in a way that makes you question your own narrative, a book that builds in suspense through thinly veiled social commentary and doubt. 

164 pages of brilliance. I can't recommend this book enough.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Grief, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, and Body horror