Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

O sal das lágrimas by Ruta Sepetys

55 reviews

gracielou2000's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Racial slurs, and Grief

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Rape, Homophobia, Death of parent, Medical content, and Murder

rebeccaisabelle's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative sad fast-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

3.5

The reading pace was quite fast for this book. I got to learn about periods of history I didn't know before such as

the sinking of the Willem Gustoff. I also loved the relationship between Florian and Joana. However, overall, I found that the book was sad. Characters I didn't expect to pass away, passed away, those such as Ingrid, the shoe poet, Alfred, and Emilia. Emilia's death was the saddest of them all because I really thought she'd make it but I guess that just points to the fact that many people died in that catastrophe. I'm glad that Joana, Florian and Klaus got a happy ending though. I would have liked to hear more about where Eva ended up or if Florian and Joana ever found their respective families.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, War, Violence, Xenophobia, Death, Murder, Antisemitism, Hate crime, Genocide, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Blood, Physical abuse, Grief, Body horror, Racism, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Rape

themichellegray's review against another edition

challenging 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

3.0

A beautifully written yet heartbreaking historical fiction that captured a part of WW2 I'd never learned about before. While I appreciate this book, I simultaneously struggled with the pacing and sadly never became fully invested in any of the MC's due to the storytelling format. Despite my personal reading struggles, this story is so important and the author's note perfectly sums up why:

History divided us, but through reading we can be united in story, study, and remembrance. Books join us together as a global reading community, but more important, a global human community striving to learn from the past.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Death of parent, Death, Rape, Genocide, Ableism, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, War, Blood, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail

madeline_schmidt20's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Rape, Death, Violence, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, and Grief

Moderate: Child death

nasab's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I bought this book because of a sale. I didn’t know much about it, but I liked the theme and the book cover, so I bought it.
I didn’t think I would love it this much! It reminded me of why I love historical fiction! The characters aren’t real, but the experience is! This is a story I’ll be thinking about for a long time. I’m just surprised that I’ve never heard of the Wilhelm Gustloff, despite it being the deadliest disaster in maritime history. I’m glad Ruta Sepetys is contributing to its recognition.
War is ugly. Some use it as an excuse for their horrible actions, but most people just want to live peacefully with their families and loved ones and don’t care about politics. It saddens me that innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire. Unfortunately, war isn’t something in the past; it’s still affecting many innocent people in Gaza right this moment. الله يرفع عنهم وينصرهم.
I can’t bring myself to talk about the plot and characters because I’m still processing it, and it’s making me so sad.
Joana the nurse. Florian the artist. Emilia the selfless. Heinz the shoe poet. Ingrid the blind. Klaus the wandering boy. Halinka the baby. Eva the sorry giant. And last and definitely least, Alfred the idiot.

It's silly, but I hoped the shoe poet would emerge from somewhere and be alive. Emilia as well was just too young, but I realize that many died who were much younger than her, and my heart breaks even more. Joana and Florian's romance was sweet, I'm glad they survived and raised the kids. Alfred is a lunatic and a bit exaggerated but represents those who obey such ruthless rulers and believe in them.

I'm feeling so many emotions right now that I can't put into words. It's a sign of a 5-star read.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Racism, Abandonment, Rape, War, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Blood, and Pregnancy

allisonbraun's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, War, Medical content, Genocide, Body horror, Pregnancy, and Death

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and Antisemitism

lexluth0r's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-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

5.0

Yet another masterful work by Ruta Sepetys. I think this one was the hardest one for me to read, solely because of the amount of child death that takes place. It is a powerful book about the largest maritime disaster in history, the attack upon and sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. This story is told from four points of view; three refugees and one German sailor. The different points of view were very interesting in order to understand the history of the characters, as well as their struggles. I loved this book, and it left me thinking about it for hours after I finished it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Rape, Vomit, Medical content, Sexual assault, and War

izzyhallow's review against another edition

dark informative

3.0

Another distressing read from Sepetys. Meticulously researched. Didn't have quite the same emotional connection for me as Between Shades but still a very engaging listen that had me spiralling on the tube. One of those books you have to make sure you're in the right headspace for as it gets pretty graphic about the horrors of war.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Child abuse and Rape

sandy_dunes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense 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? Yes

5.0

Awesome book! The main characters were well-developed, the historical setting is really immersive, and I'm in love with the way that the themes are explored through the combination of both. Admittedly it was a bit hard keeping track of backstories at times, because all four main characters had pretty complex ones, but the gradual reveals were so satisfying! Oh, and of course I can't forget the amazing character dynamics <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault and Pregnancy

taracloudclark's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

An excellent story told from four perspectives of one of the most horrific events in history. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Rape, Child abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Violence, Hate crime, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, and Racism

Minor: Animal cruelty