Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

21 reviews

karen_lo's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

3.5 stars

It's confusing at the beginning, but once you pick up the pace, it's okay.

This is a very slow-burn book that reflects heavily on sexism, racism, gender-based violence, and memory.

I liked it, but I was expecting a confrontation that never came. I guess it's a parallelism with life, and how sometimes you're just left wondering the what-ifs, the could-haves, and the should-haves of important things.

I definitely wanted justice and liberty for the innocent ones.

It was a bittersweet read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Sexism, Violence, Rape, Racism, Infidelity, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Alcohol, Death, Sexual content, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Cancer, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, and Eating disorder

Minor: Drug use, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Cancer, Mental illness, and Fatphobia

mraddd's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Blood, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Bullying, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Child death, Death, Stalking, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Suicide, Eating disorder, and Classism

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic and Self harm

katiejohns's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Murder, Violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Suicide

ecn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Death, Classism, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Rape, Physical abuse, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Racism, Mental illness, Infidelity, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Pedophilia, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Body shaming

gwenc0423's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Mental illness and Suicide attempt

danil_knits's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Death, Mental illness, Sexism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

rachaelwho's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

I can't quite pin down what made this not 5 stars for me. I thought if I waited a while to review I'd gather my thoughts more, but it's kind of fading instead. It did a lot and covered a lot. Interesting and a good read, especially if you have misgivings around our culture's true crime obsession... Though it was less interested in the morals and meaning of that than I expected. Maybe it spread itself too thin.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Murder, Child abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Racism, Infidelity, Gore, and Child death

Moderate: Eating disorder and Death of parent

mads_jpg's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.25

As someone who isn't a big fiction reader, I probably would never have read this book if it weren't for my work book club, but I'm so glad I did. 

I'm also really skeptical about the true crime entertainment industry, so this book's take on the genre was incredibly refreshing. The author's frequent references to real life cases, and her deliberate choice to not name perpetrators and instead center the experiences of both victims and survivors was fantastic. This book left me angry at the injustice of the justice system and the microagressions that eventually lead to violence against women and people of colour. 

Overall, it was an insightful take on true crime as a form of entertainment, and my only real critique was that the ending left me somewhat wanting.

While I'd loved the use of "you" as this ongoing mystery, I was disappointed we never had any kind of climax/closure with Mr Bloch. And while I know in reality Omar would probably never get justice, I really hoped the book would opt for a happy ending for him. Lastly, the final chapter felt like an odd way to finish the story. Aside from Bodie reflecting on Carlotta's death, it just felt like a moment of pause before the actual ending, so I was genuinely surprised when I realised it was over.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pedophilia, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Drug use, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racism, and Sexism

sunbathingturtle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

Could not put this book down. Thought about it constantly. Once the main storyline began, it swept me under. And the social commentary felt so sharp and real, because there were allowed to be no real answers. Just questions. As the title would suggest ;) 

Only reason this isn’t a 5 star read for me is because I was hoping for just a bit more from the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Child death, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual assault

Minor: Mental illness

deetabz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Murder, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual content, Racism, Self harm, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Cancer, Classism, Eating disorder, Rape, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death of parent, Body shaming, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Stalking