Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

13 reviews

cassie7e's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

4.5

The sweet relaxing read I needed during a rough week (especially with all broody books on the rest of the docket!). It had me smiling at moments of quiet, indirect snarky hilarity and at heartfelt, touching interactions. It wrapped up neatly, though I wish we got to see more of the relationship resolution on page.

My favorite characters - charming Bomber, sweet Eunice, straightforward Sarah

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia

Moderate: Terminal illness, Ableism, Death, Animal death, Suicide, Death of parent, and Fatphobia

Minor: Alcohol, Infertility, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity

dog_mom's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious 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? No

4.25

An excellent book. I am not sure what I found more enjoyable, the characters or the mini narratives about the “lost things.” Witty and a joy to read, although maybe a tad predictable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Dementia

Moderate: Animal death

cwerber's review against another edition

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

2.5

I cannot ignore that the plot of this book is similar to the plot The Messy Lives of Book People. Both have a secondary character who is a writer, older, and dies about a third of the way through. Both have a main character who is a housekeeper, married young, and feels like the best years of her life are behind her. (Naturally, I took offense to this since I was about the main character's age.) And both must take on tasks that feel Herculean in nature. Oh, and both are British. 

I could not ignore the similarities. I really, really couldn't. 

I also wanted to shake the main characters to try and make them see sense. 

Though, in this book we have a parallel story about a woman who finds something that is central to the book. There's also a young woman with Down's Syndrome, a suitor who just can't see to express his interest in the main character, and a ghost. 

I caught myself rolling my eyes at the main character often at what she says and does. I was tempted a few times to throw it across the room, but since I was reading it on a laptop, I opted not to. 

Look, it obviously not what I was hoping it would be. But perhaps it may be for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Minor: Animal death

olivianuzzo's review

emotional funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• 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

This is just such a nice book. A quick little read that just feels like a warm hug. I truly loved this!!! Perfect for getting me out of my reading slump!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Animal death, and Death

amyrandles1's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Death

Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Suicide, Miscarriage, and Grief

_andi3's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Dementia

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, and Infidelity

ceruleanseas's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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? Yes

3.75

I read this for a book club and it was generally liked by everyone, myself included. 

The book deals with some very heavy events, including death, grief, dementia, and heartbreak, but in many cases, the author never quite gives the reader enough details to say definitively what happened.  I have limited personal experience with dementia and grief, but I felt that these topics were handled thoughtfully. 

I have no experience with people with Down's Syndrome, so I can't speak to whether Sunshine's character was written well, but

having Sunshine not only be very in-tune with everything in the world around her unless she was being totally oblivious to social cues, but also having psychic powers, was a little too stereotypical for me. She didn't single-handedly solve everything herself while everyone else stared in awe, though, and I really have no idea if her perception of the world is realistic in any way

.

I enjoyed the complex layering of the stories of the lost things and the main plot lines. I also liked that the author chose to NOT wrap up many of the plot lines in the standard way

not everyone gets a standard happy-ever-after, even if they do end up, more or less, as happy

but created a far more relatable story about grief, relationships, and healing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Chronic illness, Infertility, Infidelity, Animal death, Miscarriage, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Infidelity

mnatale100's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Ableism, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Death, Sexual violence, Animal death, and Terminal illness

Minor: Cursing, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Alcohol

itsbumley's review

emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Terminal illness, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Infidelity, Infertility, Death of parent, Dementia, Death, Domestic abuse, Cancer, Animal death, Child abuse, and Chronic illness

lemonflower's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, and Animal death