Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

All our hidden gifts - La Gouvernante by Caroline O'Donoghue

67 reviews

mcdal's review against another edition

5.0

I cannot remember the last time I was so immediately gripped by a book that I could not put it down. Reading this opened the floodgates of nostalgia, to when I would pace around my room analyzing the mysteries of House of Anubis or when I would laugh at the corny but heartfelt banter of My Babysitter’s a Vampire or even when I’d watch pirated episodes of Trollz on YouTube.

This book was perfectly whimsical, had impeccable humor, and the characters were just so immediately likeable and dynamic. More than anything, what kept me going, what made it impossible for me to put this book down was the characters. I loved every single one of them. I even loved the sappy teen romance which in any other story I would have had little patience for (it does help that there are some critical differences when it comes to the identities of the characters involved though). (Oh, and Maeve has ADHD. Yeah, yeah she’s magic or whatever but also Maeve has ADHD and you cannot convince me otherwise)

I knew this book would be good but I was not expecting to fall in love with it. All Our Hidden Gifts is the fun, melodrama-laden queer urban fantasy romp I have been wanting for ages, and god am I so glad I decided to pick this book up. Even if it did throw a wrench in my to do list for the day lol. 

I knew I was probably gonna give this book a high rating but what made it a five stars for me is unfortunately spoilers; what I can say is the ending was so refreshing as someone who has found herself frustrated in the past with similar YA books. 

So yeah, this was amazing, the day has disappeared before my very eyes, I have no regrets, and I can’t wait to read the sequel. 

I gained five years back to my lifespan when the author ended the story saying that forgiveness is never something a person is owed, like I can’t stress enough how having Lily still be mad at Maeve made this book a 5/5 in my eyes. Because yes, no one is obligated to forgive someone who has hurt them, and this is sadly a message too few YA books ever consider. I am so grateful the author in this case understood how trauma and interpersonal relationships actually work.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Blood, Outing, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Religious bigotry, and Self harm

laynemandros's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Violence, Racism, Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

abigailc0x's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

i literally read 250 pages today so be impressed!!!
it was really really good hence why i read most of it in a few days but ended not how i expected it
side note the made up song lyrics made me slightly cringe but maybe that’s a me thing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Outing, Suicide, Blood, Deadnaming, Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Transphobia

Minor: Xenophobia

alexiavldsc's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, and Homophobia

queergoth_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

I really enjoyed this. I enjoyed it far more than I expected to. I really resonated with a lot of the characters and I was completely drawn into their world. Honestly I really enjoyed it so much and I don't know what else to say about it. There are a couple of lines that maybe didn't age so well recently but that's just with hindsight.  Overall it was a really great read and I need the sequel now!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Racism, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

Minor: Infidelity

thewoodlandbookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Violence, Homophobia, Medical content, Suicide, and Transphobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Deadnaming

e_flah's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

All Our Hidden Gifts had one of the most relatable and three-dimensional main characters I've seen in YA. Maeve makes mistakes throughout the course of the book, some of which have serious repercussions, and is always trying to balance who she wants to be with how she acts. Watching her grow as an individual and learn how to have better relationships with others was one of my favorite parts of All Our Hidden Gifts.

The supernatural elements of All Our Hidden Gifts were really well done.

I loved how the magic system slowly unfolded over the course of the story as Maeve learned more about her own abilities. O'Donoghue did an excellent job letting the reader learn more about how magic works while leaving intriguing questions open for exploration in book 2.

The inclusion of illustrations of tarot cards between chapters was a neat touch. I enjoyed seeing the artist's interpretation of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck along with the infamous Housekeeper card.

This was a gripping, fast-paced read with vibrant characters. I'm looking forward to seeing Maeve and her friends again in book 2.

Thank you to Candlewick Press and Edelweiss for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Homophobia, Racism, and Bullying

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

abookishwasp's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Violence, Biphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Blood and Bullying

valley's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.25

I overall liked the story and all the details and explanations about magic, but what this book lacks in my opinion is subtlety. Whenever an important and controversial topic is brought up, which we have a lot of,

from Jo's activism, to Roes problems coming out and the racism Fiona has experienced,

  we always get it written out, how bad that is. Of course explaining lgbtq themes for example is important, but the way it was written really just made me feel icky and it felt unnatural, like in a school lesson. 

The end was honestly kind of annoying to me, totally subjective, i know, but them all getting powers just feels like creating Gary Stus and Mary Sues and quirky events.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Hate crime, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Dysphoria, Outing, Medical content, Deadnaming, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

hann4's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

I loved it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Blood, Xenophobia, Bullying, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicidal thoughts