Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Hang The Moon by Jeannette Walls

16 reviews

bearybooky's review

sad medium-paced

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

3.75

Too depressing and close to real life to be enjoyably entertaining for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Slavery, Cancer, Classism, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Child death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Sexism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, and Murder

cyndi1966's review

slow-paced

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

2.0

This book was just a hot mess. I finished it only to see how ridiculous it would get. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Suicide, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Child death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Abandonment

Minor: Slavery and Pregnancy

seashellsforshelley's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Another review pointed out the parallels with Elizabeth I and Henry VIII and that just blew my mind. It totally is Tudor drama set in 1920s rural Virginia. It’s a great book and would make an amazing movie. I think what keeps me from giving 5 stars is the slow beginning and the narration on the audiobook. All the characters sounded the same and it wasn’t really well acted, sorry. It was impossible to tell when something was being thought by Sallie or being said aloud which led to some confusion. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Cancer, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual content

redheadorganist's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Blood, Classism, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Alcoholism, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Alcohol, Abandonment, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Cancer

Moderate: Grief, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content

Minor: Infertility

machenn's review

adventurous fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Misogyny, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence

jumpinjule's review

adventurous emotional fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Grief

oceanwriter's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

4.75

I forget how much I love Depression-era stories until I come across books like this. There’s so much grit to be found, especially when the book is so character driven. I hung on every word and was completely immersed.

When her stepmother dies, Sallie Kincaid is finally called home after being sent away at the age of eight. She’s thrilled by this second chance to reclaim her place in her family and redeem herself as a big sister to her half-brother, Eddie. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that she might be in over her head. Nevertheless, she refuses to back down from a challenge. She isn’t afraid to do whatever it takes to prove herself worthy of her father’s affection.

The longer Sallie is home, she realizes that her father is far different from the man she remembers. What’s more is that she doesn’t know much about her own past, especially surrounding her mother’s death. When Duke remarries, even more secrets rise to the surface.

I ate up the in-depth timeline in which the story is told. Most of the events of the book happen in real-time which made it hard to pause reading. It’s also extremely character driven which I love. It’s overall an emotional and dark story in its way. All that said, there was a lot of information and characters to digest. Honestly, I’d say too many, especially when it comes to Sallie’s complicated family tree. I’m still not positive about all of the relationships. Still, I was thoroughly engrossed from start to finish. Sometimes that’s difficult for me to find.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Child death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Cancer, Infertility, and Infidelity

Minor: Murder, Cursing, and Misogyny

suzydunk's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Infidelity, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, and Suicide

kimveach's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

4.0

I had read reviews that raved about this book, so I was expecting to love it.  I liked the story, but it didn't meet my expectations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Grief, Incest, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Child death, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

mels_reading_log's review

adventurous medium-paced

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

4.0

This book was wild. It follows the life of Sallie Kincaid and her life growing up in a powerful family in a rural mountain town in the 1920s. Sallie is not like normal girls of this time, she wants to do the dirty work, drive fast cars and carry a gun.  With the death of family members you go through the politics of a powerful family changing command and the chaos that ensues. I was not immediately drawn in to this book, but by the end I could not wait to see what was going to happen next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Police brutality, Sexism, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, Classism, Death of parent, Hate crime, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Suicide attempt

Minor: War