Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

165 reviews

tays_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Deportation

Minor: Confinement, Homophobia, and Excrement

sarahfeller's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Deportation

emandert's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Death of parent, War, and Deportation

saam_brownn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

An absolutely incredible book from beginning to end. I was extremely emotional; I often felt what the main characters did along with them. While I could never possibly understand what they were going through to its core, I hurt when they hurt, I was apprehensive throughout the book as they were, etc. I have always been fascinated with historical fiction books though I’ve found myself drawn mostly to WWII books. That said, I absolutely loved this book and how considerately detailed it was given the heavy and heartbreaking topics that Kristin Hannah had to describe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and War

silverhill's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Deportation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Vomit, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Terminal illness

maxine_t96's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Antisemitism, Murder, and War

Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer and Terminal illness

kwheeler12's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad 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? Yes

5.0

Incredible read, I struggled to work through the beginning of the book as I don’t understand French but slowly I made up words and continued on. This book made me feel so many feelings deep in my heart. So much pain for the loss that was World War 2. The characters, the growth, I cried multiple times reading this. I will be recommending to everyone!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Toxic friendship, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Blood, and Deportation

astoriareader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

SYNOPSIS:

• Two sisters, Isabelle & Vianne, are living in Nazi-occupied France in WWII, and we follow their two different stories & experiences during this time.
• There is also some chapters with an unknown narrator in 1995, who appears to be looking back on the time in France.

MY THOUGHTS

• This one lived up to the hype.
• Kristin Hannah has quickly become one of my favorite authors. This is my 3rd read by her. Previously, I read The Great Alone and The Women, so this is my 3rd read by her.
• Hannah’s writing is vivid and captivating. Even though this is a fairly lengthy book (around 570 pages), I found myself not being able to put it down, and I got through it pretty quickly. By the end of the book, I felt like I had been on the journey with the characters.
• Since this involves WWII, the topics are heavy. This isn’t an easy read. It is a harrowing, heartbreaking, and emotional story. Although there are a lot of sensitive topics involved, Hannah did a great job at not going overboard with grotesque descriptions. In fact, the lack of descriptions made it even more horrifying, as your mind can easily close the loop on what is happening.
• I loved the complex characters and the family dynamics. Throughout the book, we learn that the sisters are essentially estranged at the beginning of the war. They are very different people, and they have different stories. I enjoyed seeing the two sisters grow, and they learned a lot about themselves & each other. I could feel all the women were sacrificing & putting on the line. 
• I can only imagine all the research that Hannah had to undertake while writing this, so hats off to her.
• Hannah masterfully shows readers a wide range of challenging situations that folks faces during this period of time. Since this involves WWII, I figured there would not be a happy ending. Although it is not a happy ending, it is a satisfying one.
• I loved having two strong, capable women as main characters.
• This book will stay with me for a long time. It is emotional & powerful, and the characters face unthinkable situations. Although it is historical fiction, it is moving reminder of what real people went through in WWII, and it is a tough pill to swallow.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️historical fiction about 2 sisters in Nazi-occupied France in WWII. Heartbreaking, harrowing, emotional, and powerful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Antisemitism, Murder, and War

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Cancer, Infertility, and Pregnancy

theycallmerash's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Miscarriage, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Police brutality

gymjam_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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

3.75

An insightful and emotional read into life in France during ww2. Focusing mainly on two sisters, it's a tale of how they endured the horror and did their bit for the war effort in the shadows. They were a drop in an ocean of women who were somewhat invisible yet powerful and invaluable weapons.
There were many times I almost stopped reading as it got too slow but I'm glad I persisted. Even though it's a piece of fiction, it felt very real. I've not really delved into or learnt much about how it was to be in France during that time-frame so it felt like a history lesson wrapped in a believable story. It leaves you feeling reflective, heart-broken and inspired. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Sexism, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment