Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison

8 reviews

perfectcupoftea's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Grief, Child death, Slavery, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Homophobia, Alcohol, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexism, Self harm, Physical abuse, Medical content, Racism, Murder, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Rape, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Infertility, Drug use, and Death

ola2109's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexism, Abortion, Sexual violence, Slavery, Miscarriage, Blood, Cursing, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

hurlyburlywitch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

This was dark, and made my insides roil. I found the protagonist compelling, though some of her choices didnt particularly resonate with me. 
Several plot points hit me like a gut punch, but in the end the plot felt rushed, like they'd run out of book to struggle in, rather than running out of struggle. 
One thing that was missing for me was the acknowledgement of trans people, and how they were impacted by a virus that was more deadly for women. In fact, they might have held some clue- was the virus more deadly based on about organs, or hormones, or purely capacity for pregnancy? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Rape, Violence, Death, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Child death

Moderate: Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Medical content, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Blood, Child abuse, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Excrement, Infidelity, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Suicide, Murder, Car accident, and Cursing

Minor: Vomit

abbacirc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Infertility, Death, Slavery, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Child death

Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Infidelity

kat1105's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Confinement, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Self harm, Slavery, Trafficking, Violence, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Vomit

larbster90's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

4.5

Incredible book, very compelling couldn't stop reading it. Definitely increased my anxiety, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Child death, Infidelity, Body horror, Murder, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Drug use, Infertility, Sexism, Trafficking, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Child abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Adult/minor relationship

batcaves's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Trafficking

bex_knighthunterbooks's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

Wow - bleak, atmospheric, incredibly dark but very readable and with a refreshingly queer perspective on the apocalypse. I love survival narratives, so really enjoyed all the minutiae about finding shelter, food etc. (and with birth control which doesn't feature enough in sci-fi!) but also enjoyed the bigger ideas around: what cultures and communities would develop and survive (not all good), female empowerment & sexual autonomy. This generally focussed on the small picture (which felt realistic given the rate of societal collapse meant that much would remain a mystery), but there were some story sections that explored wider narratives which I appreciated. I enjoyed the framing story, which also provided some hope from the start.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Rape, and Slavery

Moderate: Infidelity, Trafficking, Violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, and Gun violence

Minor: Drug use, Suicide, Pedophilia, and Homophobia