Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

5 reviews

apiologee's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child death, Cancer, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Toxic friendship

lindsayerin's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Sexual harassment, and Vomit

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Violence, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Racism, Medical trauma, Eating disorder, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, and Police brutality

Minor: Stalking, Cancer, Pandemic/Epidemic, Eating disorder, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Blood

kimveach's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective fast-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? Yes

4.5

This book grabbed my attention from the start and held it through to the end.  I loved the story of a podcaster looking into her own school history of a murder of a classmate.  With her students attempting a podcast similar to Serial, she examines not only the original murder but also society as a whole in this Me Too age.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Classism, Death, Infidelity, Medical content, Self harm, Drug use, Eating disorder, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, Pedophilia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Cursing, Violence, Cancer, and Domestic abuse

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Gore, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Racism, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Death, Infidelity, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, and Sexual content

Moderate: Eating disorder, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia

Minor: Self harm

goldenbeebookshop's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

3.0

It's hard to rate this book because there are some compelling things happening here, but it's hard to tell from the description that this novel is mostly about the realities of women who are assaulted and/or murdered, the men who more often than not get away with it, and the deeply flawed and racist judicial system. These are not tangential things- these are the main focus of the plot more than any mysterious aspect finding the real killer.
All evidence thus far does paint a bleak picture for women in America- and there's value to that being explored, I just don't know how I feel about it being hung on this mystery scaffolding. The main character's actions do prompt some questions about whether or not there's nuance when it comes to believing women, to penalizing men for the actions of the past and assessing whether there's a spectrum of behaviors that might warrant different actions, and what kind of justice or truth can be found in the court of public opinion in a time when anyone can have a podcast or YouTube channel.
There is some great writing here- little concise sentences here are there that completely capture the feeling of being young, or being lost, or a person struggling in the world.
The pacing is a little slow in the beginning, and Bode felt a little incomplete as a character. There are little pieces of things dropped in and abandoned that I was uncertain as to whether they were meant to serve as mini red herrings or if they were underdeveloped plot additions. The last quarter of the book did move a lot faster and I find myself eager to sit down and read for an hour straight, which I hadn't been as eager to do before.
I think it might be helpful for people to know going into this that this is a story that feels true in that justice is rarely found in white patriarchal contexts, vigilante justice while potentially satisfying isn't always accurate or successful, and there are ripples of grief and shame that impact family and friends because of the choices of one person that are inescapable. There's no real high note to end on here, which is real, but rare in a fictional mystery.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Death of parent, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Classism, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Cancer, Murder, Alcohol, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Child death, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Racism