Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

All That's Left in the World by Erik J. Brown

10 reviews

ronan900's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Death, and Medical content

Moderate: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Violence, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, and Gore

Minor: Vomit, Abandonment, and Bullying

planner5002's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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

3.75

This book was kind of slow, but it was entertaining and compelling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Bullying

This book is about a pandemic, and it doesn’t hesitate to use gore. It’s a good read, but anyone squeamish whose worried about getting triggered by the content might not want to read it.

davidbythebay's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

I was skeptical, to say the least. I worried that I couldn't handle a dystopian world post-pandemic from an incredibly deadly flu. I waited to read this until I was able to better handle that because I was unsure how I would react to a post-pandemic dystopia. To be honest, I never once thought of COVID-19 as I tore through this book like a hot knife through butter.

I was kept guessing from page 1 about what was going to happen next. Some things did happen as I hoped/predicted, even if not in the way I originally thought. Other things came out of nowhere. No matter what, it was intense in all the best ways. I legitimately YELLED at the book at one point - no spoilers! - and pleaded with the author as though I was Annie Wilkes in Misery. Had things not gone to my satisfaction, I don't know if I wouldn't have gone full Wilkes. Thankfully, things worked out better than I could have hoped. 

The pacing of the book made me hesitant a good amount of the time. It flew by to the point where what I thought the ending was going to be would have occurred only 50% of the way through the book. Yup. I was convinced that the story arch was one particular thing and that it was being resolved at 50%. I was pleased to see that there was some legs to the second half of the book - and I do mean a nice set of legs. It was almost like this was two books combined into one in that there were almost two different plots that were seamlessly and masterfully stitched together. Brown's book doesn't feel like two books smashed together. At the 50% mark I started wondering where we were going to go next. The second half naturally came out of the first half and transitioned smoothly.

Brown skillfully maintained the tension and begged the reader to turn the page. There was not a stray word nor a stray moment in this piece. I have to say, this was a masterful M-M Romance. Hope and the discovery of what love and what makes a home is the center of this novel. I have discovered a new book that I have fallen in love with. I hope that this author, whom I now adore immensely, will write again in the future. Whether it be in this universe or another, I want to see more from Erik J. Brown! 

WARNINGS: Be of the mindset that you can handle discussions of a deadly super flu, detailed descriptions of illness and deaths, violence, some gore, death of family and loved ones, homophobia, and medical discussions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Misogyny, Homophobia, Gun violence, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Terminal illness, Child death, Death of parent, Gore, Bullying, and Violence

Minor: Suicide

captainoliimar's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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: Suicide attempt, Classism, Blood, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Animal death, Gore, Medical content, Homophobia, Suicide, and Hate crime

Moderate: Racism, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Kidnapping, Bullying, Torture, Outing, Misogyny, Ableism, Vomit, Stalking, and Police brutality

esm_359's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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: Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Medical content, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Terminal illness, and Bullying

Minor: Sexism and Racism

jenarae's review

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Homophobia, Vomit, Body horror, Misogyny, Gore, and Medical content

Minor: Bullying, Religious bigotry, and Hate crime

dusksolace's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Homophobia, Vomit, and Bullying

librariangeorgia's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

3.5

I enjoyed this book, but at the same time it felt very realistic. 

It’s set years into the future, after COVID, in the aftermath of a ‘superflu’ pandemic. It feels like an alternative version of what could’ve happened in the last 2 years.

I adored Jamie and Andrew! Ugh, they need to be protected at all costs! I loved the slow burn relationship - and I usually hate that!

The ending was just *chefs kiss* - it felt just right for this book even though I really wanted to know what would happen with Henri!

Overall, well written and interesting book - just a bit too close to home at the moment for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Vomit, Death of parent, Excrement, Homophobia, Murder, Bullying, Death, and Gun violence

betweentheshelves's review

adventurous emotional 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

4.5

 Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of this to review! There is a definite lack of gay post-apocalyptic fiction, so I'm so glad that this exists. I'm also happy to report that this lived up to my expectations, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I think I saw somewhere that this is being pitched as David and Patrick from Schitt's Creek as teenagers at the end of the world. That absolutely describes Andrew and Jamie's dynamic so well. Jamie is much more reserved, level headed like Patrick. Andrew puts himself out there more, like David. They have bickering, they have sweet moments. The romance definitely isn't lost in this post-apocalpytic novel. But it also doesn't take away from the seriousness of what's happening around them. It feels realistic, given the circumstances.

The only reason this isn't getting a full five stars is honestly because I was a little taken out of the story by the mentions of COVID. I get the importance, and appreciated the author's note at the end about it. I'm still of the opinion that it feels too soon to put COVID in books. Does anyone else feel this way?

Anyway, this is definitely a very character driven novel, as there's not necessarily a central conflict driving the plot except for the apocalypse. Personally, I'm a fan of this kind of story, but always feel like it's helpful knowing that before you go into the story.

All in all, if you're looking for a good character driven post-apocalyptic novel, this is for you! I also appreciated the Tom Holland references, because of obvious reasons (or maybe not obvious, if you haven't seen my posts about Spider-Man). This might be one I add to my personal library when it comes out in March! 
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I'm so happy this lived up to expectations for me! It checked a lot of my favorite boxes. Full review to come next week!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, and Violence

Minor: Bullying, Excrement, and Violence

tepidgirlsummer's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny 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: Death of parent, Death, Grief, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Homophobia, Medical content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Bullying