Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner

13 reviews

shawnna_reads2's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, War, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Infertility, and Infidelity

bnelson13's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

This was a very hard but very wonderful book to read. I always enjoy stories where it jumps between timelines, telling a story of the main character in the past and then the main character in the future until they finally meet up in the present, and this one was very well done. A lot of heavy topics in this book, not only of a much older man r*ping a young girl in his care and the consequences of that, but also some of the atrocities of WWII and the Nazi treatment of people with diversabilities. It also deals with forced sterilization and eugenics, both during the war in Europe, but also taking place in the United States. 

Susan Meissner did a wonderful job telling the stories of Rosanne and Helen, and I found that this was a hard book to put down. My heart broke over and over for Rosanne and Helen, and the others of this story, but I'm so wonderfully happy that I was able to read it. It's a really powerful story.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, and War

maddiet425's review

emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

I’ve read three of Meissner’s books and I think this one might be my favorite! I’ve read a lot about eugenics but I still managed to learn so many new things. Despite being educational, the book rarely felt preachy or lecture-like. In fact, I can only think of two minor parts where this was the case. I loved the characters and found myself equally interested in both Helen and Rosie’s stories, something that’s always difficult in a multiple POV story. Overall, a great read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Grief

Moderate: War, Rape, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Antisemitism, and Death of parent