Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson, Christine Larsen

4 reviews

megelizabeth's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

"All anger and rage and revenge. He saves Gotham from the monsters but destroys it in the process. That bothered me in the movie, you know? Sure, he stops the Joker, but at what cost? Life is about more than hate. It takes more than anger to make a hero."

This book broke my heart and then went just enough of the way to putting it back together again that it made me both entirely obsessed with it and still left with a sadness that I don't think will ever quite leave me. I absolutely ached for Andrew from the beginning and it's been a while since I've become as completely attached to a set of characters as I did to those in this book.

The concept is also just so, so interesting and the story had me absolutely captivated. It explores multiple important themes, whilst never seeming like it's trying to do too much, and I particularly loved the way it literally personifies Death and just presents death in such a stark and honest way. I really loved the writing style too, and whilst the comic strips throughout didn't do much for me (just because comics are personally not my thing and they went a bit over my head here), the strip right at the end I completely adored and I was just so overwhelmed with bittersweet joy that the book ended the way it did.

For full disclosure, I did have a few slight issues with the narrative, as the plot felt just a little bit messy at times and there were a few moments where things didn't quite make perfect sense. I also wish we had seen a bit more explicitly the development of Andrew's feelings towards and relationship with Rusty, and there was also one scene which was a little iffy and which I wish hadn't been included. However, this story and its characters ended up having such a huge hold on me and I was left so devastated but with a sense of enough subtle hope that I just cannot give this book anything less than five stars; I just loved it so much.

(Please do check content warnings; as much as I loved this book and will continue to rave about it, it's also A LOT.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Child death, Violence, Death of parent, Death, Terminal illness, and Bullying

zac's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Medical content

nothesc's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, and Death of parent

nosmallthing's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt