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kathleenabby'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Such a beautifully written book surrounding mental health and the toll it takes on not just the individual but family and friends as well. It’s a powerful and unforgettable read. ❤️
“But I don’t want to suffer. I want to live.”
This is a must read for anyone that loves psychological fiction/mental health reads. It’s a heavy subject, deeply moving but so worth the tears 😍
“But I don’t want to suffer. I want to live.”
This is a must read for anyone that loves psychological fiction/mental health reads. It’s a heavy subject, deeply moving but so worth the tears 😍
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Death, Suicide, and Mental illness
amiegold's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.5
Lucia is a beautiful, optimistic and talented woman who finds herself struggling unexpectedly with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We find ourselves following how she copes with this disease throughout her life through her eyes, as well as the eyes of the people around her. We hear about a period of time from her sister Miranda's point of view, then weave back to experience it from Lucia's perspective. This layered perspective opened my eyes to how easy it looks to outsiders to just get healthy, and how difficult it is for the sufferer to even identify what in their life is wrong.
We traveled from New York to Switzerland to Equador and back again. I appreciated the cultural accuracy that the author portrayed, it felt like I visited and got to know these places myself.
This book accurately conveys the fear, sorrow and grief that comes along with mental illness, both for the sufferers and the caretakers. Ultimately, it is a love story of sisters, mothers and daughters and family. It was a beautiful journey.
I only removed a half star for the detailed sexual exploits and infidelity of Lucia's partner, which I really did not feel was necessary for the story and took away from the intimacy I otherwise felt with the character.
We traveled from New York to Switzerland to Equador and back again. I appreciated the cultural accuracy that the author portrayed, it felt like I visited and got to know these places myself.
This book accurately conveys the fear, sorrow and grief that comes along with mental illness, both for the sufferers and the caretakers. Ultimately, it is a love story of sisters, mothers and daughters and family. It was a beautiful journey.
I only removed a half star for the detailed sexual exploits and infidelity of Lucia's partner, which I really did not feel was necessary for the story and took away from the intimacy I otherwise felt with the character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, and Suicide
Moderate: Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Vomit
thelovelylibrarylady's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
3.0
Everything Here Is Beautiful is not a book I would usually go for. It is a character-driven novel that explores the complexities of mental illness. While that is a common topic in many stories, Lee does something unique with this title and really hones in on how a person's mental illnesses can affect the well-being of themselves and their loved ones. There were parts of the story that I thought were repetitive and slow, but the beauty of the writing somewhat made up for it. My three-star rating is mostly a reflection of my personal enjoyment of this novel and it would be a disservice to not credit Lee for the level of talent she displays in this book. I would recommend this title to other readers who love novels with in depth characterization and the literary fiction genre as a whole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Death
Moderate: Cancer and Miscarriage
Minor: Suicide
amarrymeinbostonacademic's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Suicide and Cancer
bookmaddie's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book was just okay for me. I hard a hard time getting into it, and even considered not finishing it. It took until around halfway through for it to pick up a bit of steam to keep me going. From the way this book is summarized, I thought the story would be more about sisterhood, but instead the narrative focuses heavily on one sister, Lucia.
The point of view shifts throughout the book, circling around a central group of characters to tell Lucia's story. While it was interesting to watch Lucia through the eyes of different people who cared about her, I felt that none of the perspectives really added that much to the story, besides that of her sister, Miranda. I wanted more of their relationship, but Miranda's chapters often felt stressed and frantic, as she struggled to figure out how to best care for Lucia.
I thought the story got a bit more interesting when Lucia moved to another country, and to see that place through her eyes. But while that kept me reading, I still found it really hard to connect with any of the characters.
I think if you're interested in family stories, this might be interesting. However, be mindful of the intense subject matter that deals heavily with mental illness.
The point of view shifts throughout the book, circling around a central group of characters to tell Lucia's story. While it was interesting to watch Lucia through the eyes of different people who cared about her, I felt that none of the perspectives really added that much to the story, besides that of her sister, Miranda. I wanted more of their relationship, but Miranda's chapters often felt stressed and frantic, as she struggled to figure out how to best care for Lucia.
I thought the story got a bit more interesting when Lucia moved to another country, and to see that place through her eyes. But while that kept me reading, I still found it really hard to connect with any of the characters.
I think if you're interested in family stories, this might be interesting. However, be mindful of the intense subject matter that deals heavily with mental illness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Suicide
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Everything Here is Beautiful is not a book that I would typically enjoy. It’s incredibly slow paced and deeply character centric. I’m torn between feeling that it was actually a very long book or if it only felt endless. I can appreciate Everything Here is Beautiful for what it is – a dive into sharing the struggles of someone who has a mental illness but wants to live a normal life. But I can’t say I enjoyed the book.
This book is a good fit for some readers – those who prefer serious books with complicated relationships and an emphasis on motherhood will likely enjoy it. I will warn that the book’s description is a bit misleading. On picking up Everything is Here Beautiful, I expected to read a story of sisters, of two parallel lives. This book is very much about Lucia. Intellectually you can infer bits and pieces about Miranda’s existence, but only in so much as it revolves around Lucia and their relationship not with each other, but with Lucia’s mental illness.
I’m always ready to pounce on a book that has a hyperbolic or otherwise problematic representation of mental health conditions. In this respect, I think Everything Here is Beautiful did a good job depicting a life and how a person can choose not to be defined by their mental illness even while it tries to control them. I personally have no experience with Lucy’s kind of mental illness – in the book, the doctors disagree on her diagnosis, but “bipolar” and “schizophrenia” are both tossed around – so I can’t relate as to whether or not it’s an accurate experience, but from an outsiders perspective, it feels good and respectful.
Everything Here is Beautiful has an interesting story and good research. I appreciate the Ecuadorian immigrant representation, the Chinese-American representations from two sides, the mental health representation. This is a good book for the right person. It’s a serious, slow-paced slice of life. If that sounds good to you, I recommend picking it up!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death, Car accident, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, and Vomit
sarzhaliu's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
This book was so good I have nothing else to say
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness
Moderate: Racism and Cultural appropriation
tallhousecookies's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Suicide
Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Misogyny
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