Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Ashes in the Snow by Ruta Sepetys

18 reviews

jaxene's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Fascinating to learn more about WW1 in the Baltic states. It is a topic that I was not at all familiar with before. This book was a quick read. The short chapters kept the pace moving forward. I wish that there has been a little bit more included in the epilogue about how their final story came to be. All around, a well-written story that inspires me to go read more about Stalin's roundup of Lithuanians and other Baltic folk to the Siberian arctic. Also interested in how people survive the polar night, brr 🥶.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Genocide

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

jennswan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Deportation, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, War, Hate crime, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Excrement, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

lizziaha's review against another edition

3.0

I found it hard to connect with the characters, and the end felt unsatisfying. I almost wish that we had seen at least a little of the twelve years after the end of the book. And while this book is definitely not about romance, since romance was part of the epilogue, I wish we’d seen a little more of it throughout the book. I think that Sepetys always includes characters that don’t exist within comfortable lines of morality, but in this book it felt rushed and not fleshed out enough. I do kind of want to reread Joana’s story in the other book though. I didn’t remember enough from my read several years ago. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, War, Suicide, Torture, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Deportation, Rape, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Child death, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Antisemitism

Minor: Animal death

katrinaburch's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

What a book... I was a little worried because, while well written, I wasn't a huge fan of Between the Salt and the Sea. This book is much better and excellent. While not quite my favorite (That would be The Fountains of Silence), this was so good. My only issue is that

I wish we could have known if Lena's father survived. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Torture, Violence, Genocide, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Bullying, Deportation, and Rape

alexxrose's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Very interesting and informative, even for fiction this was something I felt learned a lot from. I'd recommend it for sure, but I feel like it comes with some homework that you have to do on your own. 

I struggled to connect with the main character's love of the artist Edvard Munch. This might be because I'm not well versed in art but I also felt like the paintings were supposed to be in reference to things happening in Lina's story but I couldn't make the connections very well. 

I felt like the book shied away from some of the horrors of these camps. I don't know if this was a specific choice give the fact its a YA novel, or if the author didn't feel like it would be appropriate but it felt like it took away from the story. I don't need to see misery and death exploited on the page but it felt like there were grim undertones that were being purposefully looked away from. Which did disappoint me given the topic of the book. 

The book also ended very abruptly.

once the doctor arrives and helps the prisoners at the camp, I thought there would be more about their continued survival at the camp or how they eventually left. Yes there was a set prison sentence but the text also implied it was indefinite, so its very unclear how one would leave a labour camp like this. I also wish there had been more closure with Lina's father and her relationship with Andrius and the sympathetic soldier. All of these end abruptly or get a one line wrap up that tells us nothing.</spoilers> 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Excrement, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: War, Animal death, Sexual assault, and Suicide

lostintheplot's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Gore

Moderate: Suicide, War, and Gun violence

Minor: Sexual assault

sapphicreaderlucy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Death, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Genocide, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, War, Torture, and Gore

lena_margarethe's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Deportation, Genocide, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Physical abuse, Gore, Grief, Medical content, and Hate crime

Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and War

loverofeels's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

glad i read this, glad to be done with it...stark, brutal, unrelenting, personal, loving, and necessary.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Genocide, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Racism

sugarbutterbelle's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide