Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Ashes in the Snow by Ruta Sepetys

3 reviews

t0rixoxo's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow, I don’t even have words on how amazing this book was. The writing is so beautiful and raw you can feel what Lina feels in a way. I’ve never felt so strongly about a book like this! This is a great book to read to learn about the Soviet Union’s gulags/labor camps and the anguish they put their prisoners through. 
Almost all the characters are very lovable. I think it’s partly because you’re seeing what they have to go through and you feel sad and angry for them. Even the more morally gray characters able to be sympathized with in someway (but not forgiven, looking at you Kretsky 😒.)
Overall, this book is a 5 ⭐️ read. I would heavily recommend to anyone who likes historical fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Slavery, and Death

Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: War, Child death, and Vomit

scholastic_squid's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad 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

5.0

The Soviets are f*cked up. I am glad I bought a historical non-fiction about all this part of history as I will continue my journey of learning about Russian and Ukraine. 
The story told here is fictional however many of the experiences that occurred throughout were from actual events that happened to those imprisoned by Stalin. Lina was deported from Lithuania to Russia up into the Arctic Circle along with her mother and younger brother. Lina turned 16 before heading to the AC, while her brother was still around 12. If the imprisoned didn’t die from malnutrition, they were shot by the NKVD (later known as the KGB). Stalin was arguably worse than Hitler and would have done far more damage if left to his own devices. He killed 20 million ppl around the same time that Hitler killed approximately the same amount. That’s 40 million people gone within an approx 10 year timeframe. That would be the entire state of California….

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Religious bigotry, Grief, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Child death, Violence, Pregnancy, Murder, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Deportation, Torture, Suicide attempt, Genocide, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Death, and Chronic illness

_mya_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child death, Confinement, Excrement, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Antisemitism, Hate crime, and Miscarriage

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Cursing, Pregnancy, and Vomit