Reviews with content warning for Dementia - Gespenster

sad and searing and so so so lovely. alderton hits so much so well: the eviscerating loneliness of being single when all your friends are Happily Coupled; the soul-billowing heights of a new relationship, made ever higher by the plummeting to come; the fear and grief and exhaustion of your parents aging before your eyes; and maybe most of all, the pain and trust and love of friendship even when everything else fucking blows. also the ghosting!!! my god!! Painfully real, ooft. i loved this!

“maybe friendship is being the guardian of another person’s hope. leave it with me and i’ll look after it for a while, if it feels too heavy for now.”

Content Warnings

tiemzahra's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Nina Dean just turned 32, and finally tried to start dating again after a long-term relationship breakup. She tried online dating for the first time but became the victim of ghosting. Her dad was slowly falling into dementia, and Nina started thinking about ageing and the gendered double standard of it.

This book narrated Nina’s seemingly normal everyday life in a year she turned 32, and will be super relatable to people who face the same issue as Nina. Nina was childless, so more often than not she received comments that she must be leading an easier life because of it. At the same time, Nina was too judgmental of her friends’ choice when they become too busy raising a family to hang out with her, and towards her mother’s mid-life crisis.

Content Warnings

kasslandry's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is absolutely INCREDIBLE! Anyone in there 30's should read it. I found the storylines & relationships to be so relative and familiar - this book is comforting, hysterical, heart wrenching and more. I genuinely loved this book!

Content Warnings

frogautumn's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.0

Content Warnings

mcriv617's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I think I just went in with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised by how much I connected with the characters. Alderton’s 30-something characters were easy for me to relate to, and I found myself highlighting a passage every so often because I appreciated her commentary on male-female relationships in the age of social media (though it definitely focused on white heterosexual middle class female relatability). Think Bridget Jones’ Diary with fewer antics and less fluff and a bit more depth and substance. It also reminded me a bit of Olive by Emma Gannon, though I preferred Ghosts. I recommend (though add a small caveat that I could imagine it feeling a little too real/relatable if you’re coming off a bad relationship/dating app experience).

Content Warnings

mmccombs's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

This book is a slice of life and one that captures the feeling of being left behind exactly. A story of about being ghosted and also how the ghosts of our past inform all of our actions, it was kind of slow going but ultimately very sweet. I loved Lola and Nina’s relationship and overall just had a good time reading this one!

Content Warnings

ashleycmms's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

bumbly_bee's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

4.0

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