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ginabyeg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Child death, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Death, Blood, Excrement, Religious bigotry, and War
brdgtc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Miscarriage, Rape, Blood, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Child death, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, War, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Religious bigotry
swhitzel's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
2.5
Generally, this was a beautiful story, but it also seemed quite abrupt (in its ending) and felt as though it had little resolution. Based on the synopsis, I expected more of a relationship to develop between the three main women, and yet the connections felt superficial and forced. They go nowhere, but they also had so much potential!
Also, the depictions of birth and the medical situations were quite graphic. I often found myself sick to my stomach at some of the descriptions, especially early on.
Now that I'm writing this, I think I enjoyed the potential of this story more than the actual story itself.
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Pregnancy, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child death, War, Classism, Sexism, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Suicide attempt and Suicide
isaaah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Death, Child death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, Medical content, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Classism, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Grief, Religious bigotry, War, and Child abuse
Minor: Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Vomit, Incest, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Infertility, Suicide, Slavery, Excrement, Miscarriage, and Abandonment
bessadams's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexism, Blood, Child death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Religious bigotry, Death, Grief, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Vomit, and War
stargirlmolly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Grief, Miscarriage, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Classism, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide, Child abuse, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Ableism
Minor: War and Violence
lizziea229's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Gore, Child death, and Medical content
jovienna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I picked this book up after a reading a novel I very much HATED. pretty much anything that I would read afterwards was golden in comparison because my standards had gone LOOOOOWWW.
I really liked the main character, Julia Powers, a 30 year old nurse living with her brother, Tim.
Julia’s an incredibly resilient character, and that must come from her 8 years of nursing experience. The way she powers through and commits to her patients, putting them before herself —damn !! good for u girl
However, as many pandemic-themed works, The Pull Of The Stars lacks conflict. There is barely any tension apart from dangers of the Great Flu—including the romantic attraction between Julia and Bridie! Their dialogue feels natural, mind you, and I found myself completely immersed within scenes of action and high emotion, I found it hard to connect with the characters and their interactions because I didn’t feel like I was supposed to CARE about them.
The Pull Of The Stars was a great book, and I breezed through it within a matter of hours. But overall I felt like it had a lot of potential to go further in depth about certain characters and their relationships in the novel — particularly Tim! I simply feel like there’s so much about him that (for lack of a better word) goes unsaid. His role in the novel as a reminder of the toll that war has on those who fought was SO interesting to me especially because of how it demonstrated the impact that war had on soldiers when they returned home to their families to resume civilian life. And I would’ve loved if the book went further into that. Tim feels like a prop in some ways, just so that Julia can point and go ‘yes we are in a war and that is what happens in war he is an example that is it’ — perhaps it’d make for a more impactful read if there were flashback scenes to before the war, to contrast the past v present and portray a heartbreaking theme of trauma and loss experienced by the characters— both in the context of the pandemic and the first world war. Perhaps I’d feel more engaged with this book if it delved deeper into Julia and Tim’s respective backgrounds—Who were they, before the War? How did Julia react when her brother returned, unable to utter a single word? What can they do to move forward, in a time of drastic change and industrialisation, when their very lives were so shaken by a horrifying World War, followed by an even more brutal pandemic?
Overall, The Pull Of The Stars was an interesting read and I’ll definitely keep it on my list of rereads. I loved the scenes where Julia and Bridie were alone together to banter on their own, and I adored anything to do with Tim because I think he deserves the world. But the lack of conflict and feelings of urgency in this novel is definitely what made me drop this down from a 5 star rating.
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry
clemrain's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Misogyny, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Gore, Violence, War, and Death of parent
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Drug abuse, Excrement, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Rape, and Sexual violence
This shattering story takes place over three strenuous days of a nurse and runner in a maternity ward during the influenza pandemic. It’s a difficult, slow read that dives into the little hours of horrors experienced by the most vulnerable. I don’t really have the words for this book. I had a very vague knowledge of the influenza pandemic. But academic readings don’t do the justice to this tragic period of time. This book does and I think it’s because it’s takes a very small real part of the pandemic and focuses on it. The world is so much more than just the grand scheme of things. I don’t know much about Ireland’s history past the famine most of us are taught about. But of course just like any country, Ireland had its l share of religious trauma. I wanted to scream and yell and cry. The romance was so fleeting but it was impactful. I wish it had been woven into the plot a bit earlier butkitkatkick's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Child death, Classism, Death, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, and Miscarriage
Minor: Suicide, Dementia, and War