Reviews tagging 'Death'

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

13 reviews

themis_biblos's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

 "I've come to believe that how we choose to live with pain, or injustice, or death is the true measure of the divine within us. Some choose to do harm to themselves and others. Others bear up under their pain and help others bear it." 

 You can feel how much heart and soul Brennert put into his research and this story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Grief, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, and Death

Moderate: Racism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Sexual content, Addiction, Animal death, Confinement, and Transphobia

laur_x_2's review against another edition

emotional informative sad

• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic

nbaker83's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-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 absolutely loved this book. I never learned much about Hawaiian history or leprosy, so I found the subject matter fascinating. Rachel’s story was simultaneously gut-wrenching and heart warming. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Racism, Suicide, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Homophobia, Alcoholism, Confinement, and Child death

lynsea's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

4.0

Heartbreaking and realistic read. Informative read to understand this not-so-well-known history of Hawai’i. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, and Death

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Violence

Minor: War and Colonisation

lafate's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

How do you make a life when you are seven years old and told you must leave your family because you have leprosy? How would you react when you are sent even further away to an island which is nearly impossible for your family to visit? This is the story of seven year old Rachel Kalama and how she builds a life in Kalaupapa on Hawaiian island of Moloka'i. She had leprosy, now called Hansen's Disease. 

There is a lot about Hawaiian culture and history in this book. There are Hawaiian words and more. I had gone into this assuming the narrator would know how to pronounce everything, but I've read some reviews that make me wonder. I don't speak the language so I can't say for sure. The narration was very good, but the book was better. There were a couple of places where the book dragged, but the story always became engaging again. 

Because the book is about a disease there is a lot of death and heartbreak. It is a coming-of-age story as well. Rachel is a resilient and sometimes unwilling child. She has spunk which she is going to need. The descriptions of the disease's effects on people are at times a little gross, but they are not so detailed that I felt the need to stop listening or speed through sections. I recommend if you can handle it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Chronic illness

dnpatterson2's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Medical content, and Death

alixcallender's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Chronic illness, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Terminal illness, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Body horror, Outing, Violence, Abandonment, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Grief, Murder, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Transphobia, War, and Racism

jcd1013's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

4.5

Read this on the plane ride home from Hawaii. It was a great cap piece to a wonderful vacation - a reminder of old Hawaii and Hawaiian culture, as well as explorations of grief and stigma. The writing was simplistic and some of the changes in character perspective were a little jarring, but overall, a book worth reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, and Medical content

Moderate: Homophobia, Violence, Transphobia, and Sexual violence

paper_tea_honey's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Violence

feathers4bookmarks's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I loved learning about the Island, as well as the history and complicated trajectory of the leprosy colony and it’s inhabitants. It was painfully sad at parts and had me in tears despite myself. Overall it got a little slow for me in the third quarter or so when it felt like the story had been told abs was feeling a little repetitive and drawn out. I appreciated the authors real life facts and journals he based the characters off of. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Medical content

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness

Minor: Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Violence