Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

5 reviews

trollmila's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Minor: Self harm, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Stalking, Car accident, and Vomit

ijustreallyliketrees's review against another edition

adventurous fast-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

3.5

I probably would have loved this if I'd read it as a teen but as I am not a teen anymore this was just okay. Fun, but probably won't bother reading book 2 unless the library gets a copy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence and Murder

Minor: Cursing, Death of parent, and Self harm

ophycore's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Animal death, Kidnapping, Murder, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Blood, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Self harm

minanonim's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Violence, War, Murder, Torture, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Minor: Self harm, Gun violence, and Death of parent

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense fast-paced

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

Susan’s mom has always been a bit forgetful and has never been able to tell Susan about her father, so Susan decides to take matters into her own hands. When she visits her mom’s old friend (and mob boss) in hopes of help, she instead witnesses his death by hatpin and is whisked away from the scene by the handsome Merlin. With Merlin, Susan is plunged into the Old World, the layer beneath or New World, where all manner of creatures live and where she suddenly has many would-be murderers. She is protected by Merlin and the other booksellers: left-handed fighters and fieldworkers and right-handed scholars who protect humans from the Old World and its monsters.

As always, I love the mixture of folktales and mythology with modern life. I am particularly interested in the ancient sovereigns: beings that are like the personification of the places they rule over. I like the idea of the land as sentient and alive in that way, and I would love to read more stories that use this trope. The plot did feel a bit rushed, and I would have liked a bit more explanation and worldbuilding, especially about the booksellers. The story also occasionally felt like an advertisement for Penguin books; like, I get it, I like Penguin books too, but it really was a bit much, and don’t booksellers generally sell books from more than one publishing house?

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe):

Happy! And definitely left room for a sequel...

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Drug use and Self harm