Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade

17 reviews

erickaonpaper's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

my new favorite hyper-fixation. the kind of story that lingers in your heart long after tucking it away. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Alcoholism

Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

schlady's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A realistic portrayal of a year in the life of an imperfect family living through even less perfect circumstances. Very strong writing in the senses of family & place in New Mexico, also well narrated as an audiobook. The main characters were overall likable even after making difficult, frustrating, unlikable choices; I really felt for all of them as their stories twisted and turned and intertwined.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Sexual content, Child abuse, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Blood, Medical content, Alcoholism, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Rape, Classism, Racism, Abortion, Drug use, and Drug abuse

chelly_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Cancer, and Death

caseyf's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Car accident, Classism, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Death

stephalopuff's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer

mckeelyshannon's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

One of my favorite lines from this book was “What no one appreciates is that it takes courage—and considerable dramatic flair—to show up and insist you belong, to invoke genetic claims and demand food and love and housing.”

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

mimima's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

4.0

Somehow, when this crossed my path, the fact that it starts during Holy Week with the main character being crucified in a Good Friday procession caused me to put it on the "read during Lent" list.  
This was not an uplifting Lenten meditation.  However, instead I found a really well done family story about the aforementioned man, his 70-something widowed mother, his daughter who is both approaching her 16th birthday and the birth of her baby, his ex-wife, and other various and assorted people who he disappoints daily.  Told with humor and heart, it was a very heartwarming read, though not a faith-affirming one.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Addiction, and Alcohol

funkylitchick's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Cancer

Moderate: Self harm, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Car accident, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

internationalreads's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Cancer, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Grief, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Cursing, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Rape and Incest

nick13's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

This book was so incredible! The writing was so great and the way the author really delved into how people think and act was just so interesting and amazed me. They weren't good people, they didn't do many logical things, yet that is how people act and what made them so grounded. 
<The moments with Yolanda and her drowning feeling of her dying and the very last moments before she died were so heavy and so amazingly conveyed. I also loved how Angel tried so hard to help Lizette yet she kicked her out, showing how it is up to the other person to take your help and to also forgive themselves and also the moment where Brianna kicks Angel out of the program due to her pint up anger towards Amadeo and the crushing feeling of about to get kicked out of her job./>

Overall, this book was really movie, carried heavy themes of forgiveness that really hit home for me. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time and I cherish the time I took to read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Dementia, Cancer, Car accident, Grief, Self harm, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Rape