Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

Normal People by Sally Rooney

91 reviews

crawforl's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

God damn does Sally Rooney know how to get you,,, never have I related to characters more (ouch). I was unsure at first but holy man did it pick up in the last 140 ish pages !! Definitely will be rereading and annotating at some point >:3 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Blood

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Abortion

ireneb2006's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Death of parent

periwinkle000's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death, Grief, Sexual content, Suicide, Bullying, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Blood, and Violence

Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Vomit

hollymich's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

While I did enjoy this book, I didn't find myself compelled to pick it up... 

It is a frustratingly accurate depiction of two people who are just so passive in their relationship. I so desperately wanted Connell and Marianne to be more open about their wants and needs, but they each had very realistic issues holding them back. 

I enjoyed the exploration of mental health, coming of age, and finding yourself. 

The romantic in me was hoping for a more satisfying ending, but such is life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Alcohol, Suicide, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, and Eating disorder

hollieadaw's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Bullying

Minor: Abortion

anacoelho's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

• 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: Bullying, Classism, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide

Minor: Abortion, Body shaming, and Domestic abuse

jamun's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Minor: Abortion and Physical abuse

bcooper21's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Grief

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Physical abuse

Minor: Abortion, Bullying, and Addiction

kaireading's review against another edition

funny informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Such a lovely and thought-provoking book. Rooney’s writing style is beautiful: clear, bold and just shocking at times (as if, no one ever says that because it sounds so weird but the book somehow makes it sound quite mundane) but at the same time nonchalant. It flows so beautifully and it’s easy and satisfying to read. The characters in the book are very realistic and relatable, they are not idolized in any way, they just… exist. Sally describes them in a neutral way so that she encourages the readers to develop their own opinions. The book touches on many real-life topics and is overall a very pleasant and comforting read, because the heavier topics are presented in an easily digestible  way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexism, Suicide, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Bullying, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Cursing, and Body shaming

Minor: Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Panic attacks/disorders

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.25

ugghhh. i went into this really wanting to like it, but it was just not for me. that's partly my fault. i had decided to take a hiatus from reading The Song of Achilles because i knew it had a tragic ending and i'm not in the best mental state rn and wanted something uplifting, when i discovered both the ebook and audiobook of Normal People immediately available to borrow on Libby. don't know what i was thinking to not check the moods and content warnings if i wanted something lighthearted—that's literally what storygraph is for, totally on me.
in a word, this book was upsetting. i've heard someone (specifically, booktuber emmie) describe reading The Goldfinch (haven't read it myself) as having a kind of second-hand depression effect, and i understand it now because Normal People had this very effect of me. three particularly disturbing scenes come to mind:

Connell's former economics teacher attempting to sexually assault him, Marianne's entire relationship with Lukas, and the otherwise-nondescript scene ~88% through when Connell and Marianne have sex for the first time since their first year in college

. this latter scene was the worst of the bunch for me because they both felt so hollow—not in their characterization, Sally Rooney could never, but in their mental states. it's like they're both desperately grasping at something to give them a sense of fulfillment, but their desperation is so painfully undisguised that i found it genuinely depressing. from the very beginning there's a vague sense that the two will end up together in the end, so for it to amount to (at the time) this bleak scene makes their love seem more like inevitability, futility, rather than destiny. the ending doesn't do much to dispel this pervasive hopelessness. of course, this isn't an inherent downfall of the book, Sally Rooney is allowed to write a modern tragedy, it just very much wasn't for me, unfortunately.
with that main point out of the way, it was objectively well-written with lovely prose. i really liked its pacing, jumping forward in time but catching readers up with flashbacks. its general concept reminded me of The Namesake, following a character or characters across years of their life and focusing mainly on romantic relationships, and i prefer Normal People's execution over The Namesake's. 2⅜ stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Infidelity, Abortion, Body shaming, Death, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Vomit, Self harm, Addiction, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, War, Drug use, Racism, and Toxic friendship