Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

376 reviews

ariennegd's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is my all-time favorite book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

rachelsb's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

karinreadsalot's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-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? No

4.5

Ok, so this book broke me… healed me enough to break me again and then made me appreciate the breaking. Seems right that I finished this book on my birthday. I told a friend that 41 wasn’t much to celebrate and she said, “Every one we get is worth celebrating!” Great reminder 💔❤️

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and War

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

mskog's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

It took a bit to get going and the pace was a little slower than I had expected, but once it got moving I was relatively engaged in the story and interested in what came next. You can't help but care about the characters, and the ending has to evoke at least some emotion from a reader.

Even though it was a good read, I have to say the characters are not particularly complex. Vianne and Isabelle can mostly be reduced to a sentence or two of character description. Julien/the father might appear complex because we don't get to hear too much from him directly, but any attempt at probing whatever complexity he may have is repeated as "well he was broken in the war." When characters are this simple, I feel like anything that is intended to be an evolution for them (e.g.

Vianne hiding Jewish kids

) appears to be either a departure rather than an evolution, or simply a situation with no other possible choice and therefore mutes the commentary on the character.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Rape

elisa_atkins's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

It’s hard to put into words the emotional journey this book takes you through. It is beautifully written and gives a new perspective to the horrors that happened in ww2. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Torture, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, and Deportation

Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, and Rape

caitlinemccann's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, and Vomit

jessicaannise's review against another edition

inspiring slow-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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, and Murder

mcnoble's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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 absolutely heartbreaking but beautiful story of two heroic sisters who, in their own ways, navigate and survive the challenges cast at them during a Nazi-occupied France during WWII. In her writing, Kristin Hannah transports you to Paris, the mountains, the countryside, and to the hidden places in between where survivors gather. She shares how there is not one way to be a hero, to be a friend, or to be a sister. This book was tense but well-paced, and, as one can imagine, an absolute tear jerker at times. Thank you to the wonderfully brave women who silently carry the world during war and thank you Kristin for sharing their stories. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Murder, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Rape, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

livlaughlit's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

I was intrigued to read this book, as I’d heard practically nothing but rave reviews, but sadly this missed the mark for me.

I thought the writing style was somewhat unsophisticated and repetitive, with Hannah often implying something and then immediately clarifying what she meant, just in case we hadn’t picked up on the nuance. Regardless, the pervasive anachronisms were the real bug-bear for me. On every other page, there was an error that made me roll my eyes (oral antibiotics? A Flemish farmer smoking like a true Frenchman? The flippant mention of concentration camps on official warnings?). This read as Historical Fanfiction, rather than a well-researched piece of Historical Fiction. It was also extremely forgiving of Vichy France’s passing antisemitic legislation independently of Nazi requirements.  

Too often, the characters were reduced to flat stereotypes, and the development of the romantic plots were poorly paced (especially between Isabelle and Gaetan). I was also unconvinced by Isabelle and Vianne’s relationship, which seemed not to develop much at all.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, and Miscarriage

ldod's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War