Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

جزيرة الأشجار المفقودة by Elif Shafak

56 reviews

r0ry_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Hate crime, and Homophobia

Minor: Colonisation, Alcoholism, Child death, Pregnancy, and Sexual content

tahsintries's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Homophobia, and Genocide

Moderate: Homophobia, Abortion, Death, Grief, and Pregnancy

selireads's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

As a child of immigrant parents from former Yugoslavia, this book hit a topic close to home. I grew up learning bits and pieces of my father's past, just like Ada. Neighbours and friends turning their backs on each other and doing unspeakable things to each other is a topic we're well aware of. It was a hard read, and I found myself struggling to continue because of how relatable it was. I've never read a book that took the perspective of a tree and it's such a beautiful touch. I loved hearing the bugs and the birds talking to the tree. I will never look at trees the same way anymore. I'd strongly urge anyone who deals lives in the diaspora with generational trauma and/or immigrant parents to pick up this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death of parent, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide, Violence, War, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Blood, and Gun violence

myriam7's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Racism, Pregnancy, and Death

lynneliu's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia

Moderate: Colonisation, Death, Grief, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Hate crime, Homophobia, War, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Pregnancy, Gun violence, and Suicide

whatannikareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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? No

4.0

i just have to say the cover of this book is sooooo beautiful!

the writing is equally as beautiful. it’s one of those books where it’s evident how much research was put into it. i’m very appreciative to have been introduced to cypriot culture through this book. the prose is thoughtful and informative. i really enjoyed the narrative sections, and at first i enjoyed the perspective from the fig tree, but towards the end it annoyed me a little because it would interject the plot and it sometimes didn’t feel like it added anything; it was filler information about trees. while informative, it also made me want to get back to narrative.

i also don’t know if i loved the way ada was written? i understand she’s a teenager lacking some emotional control, but it felt like the other characters were 3D and she was written two dimensionally. she was one of the main character but i struggled to empathize with her because (maybe i’m just an adult now lol) she was just annoying and had an attitude the whole time!

overall though i think this is an important book that highlights history and culture i might not have known of otherwise!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicide, War, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death of parent, and Death

cinnamonpizza8's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

The author did a magical job of tying together a beautiful story of immigration and conflict and history effortlessly. I felt engrossed in this book when I read it, wanting to hear all the details and deeply thinking of the concepts the author rose through the characters. The fig tree was the best part of the story - I loved having this omnipresent voice that felt grounded (haha, get it). Overall, a great story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Grief, Genocide, Drug abuse, Child death, Suicide, Death of parent, Death, Sexism, Racism, War, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Murder, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

achingallover's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Violence, War, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Bullying

feebles640's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, War, and Grief

Moderate: Suicide, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Child death, Pregnancy, Homophobia, and Hate crime

Minor: Bullying and Murder

mwaskom's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

beautiful. I learned so much about Cyprus and it was so engaging. Though it is rooted in many specific places and times, it's truly about the experiences, connections, and desires we all have. Only reason it's not a 5 star read is that the tree metaphors and very heavy handed, like this book was made for a 10th grade English essay about symbolism (and would be an amazing assigned reading) but I thought it would benefit from a little more subtlety. 🌳

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Xenophobia, Child death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Murder, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Islamophobia, and Hate crime

Minor: Abortion