Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott

5 reviews

kjn1329's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Murder, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

jupiter_01's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.25

I found myself frustrated with these characters, although I understand their predicaments. I'm usually a fan of queer psycho-sexuality and unlikable women, so it was a let down that I didn't jive with the main characters--I liked the side ones more. The setting was good and I was interested in the untenable dynamics of women in science.

While the middle of this book was a bit of a slog, the final act tied it together nicely, and I was left feeling like I'd witnessed a real tragedy. It was hard to be annoyed after Abbott's poetic revelations. However, I do wish the ending gave just a little more.

Poor Serge! I actually enjoyed the relationship between Alex and Kit until, well... his Straight Shenanigans.

This line will continue to haunt me: "There's a reason ... you feel so comfortable ... with the mice, and the rats."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Mental illness, and Murder

sarah984'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

1.0

This book really disappointed me. The characters are flat and boring, and their reactions to everything are unbelievable. Particularly egregious is

the guidance counsellor who suspects a pupil killed their father, warns a scholarship committee but then never talks to the authorities? More concerned with the integrity of the women in STEM scholarship than her duties as a guidance counsellor I guess.

The entire setup to get to the pivotal moment is ridiculous.

Extremely slow-moving plot, a lot of boring navel-gazing of the Sylvia Plath Tumblr quotes women-are-insane-because-of-blood variety. Implication that people with mental illnesses are dangerous and can only help people by dying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, and Sexual content

Minor: Ableism, Transphobia, and Vomit

nextkt's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, and Violence

mikki_9's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I liked this book... a lot? I think? It is well-written (as Megan Abbott books usually are), but I think where the deficit of stars comes in for me is that I want lovable characters. Kit is the narrator throughout the book, and I don't really care for her that much. I was fascinated with and cared about Diane, but I guess that doesn't make me any different than most people who knew Kit and Diane in the book lol 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Gore, Grief, and Sexual content

Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, and Self harm