Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

49 reviews

puckeverlasting's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

An excellent read, this thought provoking book will remind you to hold your loved ones just a little bit closer tonight. While the vignettes themselves are incredibly dark in premise, the underlying themes regarding hope and the inherent beauty in humanity serve as a powerful juxtaposition. The tie-ins between stories were satisfying, and

the hints to the end twist were easy to follow while still allowing for an interesting conclusion

.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Graphic illness-related death, including frequent child death. The "dystopian" aspects of the boon hit a little close to home after COVID, so if any of this is a potential trigger, I would pass on this one. This is a gorgeous book and worth the read for many, but doesn't shy away from it's dark themes

baileybooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

saric7's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

dananana's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma

gotabookforeverysituation's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Animal death

thegouldfish's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Cancer and Pregnancy

emmalouisereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

4.25

The beginning of this book forces you to confront the concept of mortality. 

It is incredibly, and profoundly, depressing. 

It’s written as a series of short stories, all based in the same reality. I prefer this style to the usual disconnected short story collections and I enjoyed seeing characters from previous stories pop up in later chapters.

The book went in a direction in the end that I didn’t like so much. I won’t elaborate as it would be spoilers, and I do think that it is a personal preference. 

Please read the trigger warnings

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

If child death is going to upset you in a way that’s damaging to your mental health, do not read this book

knhall14's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

"How High We Go in the Dark" is so well written. Each chapter makes you think and try to piece together if/how characters are connected. While this novel deals with very heavy topics it also leaves you hopeful for the future of the characters. The beginning of the last chapter threw me for a loop but really wrapped the whole story up well. Beautiful book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Classism

naodavis's review against another edition

emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Terminal illness

emdcairou's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Death, Gore, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma