Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Ella Minnow Pea: A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable by Mark Dunn

46 reviews

delaneyanne's review against another edition

challenging funny hopeful fast-paced

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

4.5

I loved this book!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide attempt, Violence, and Suicide

one character either commits suicide or dies accidentally kind of like Ophelia in Hamlet but I thought it was better to warn about it than not. The suicide attempt warning is for a different character and that’s not ambiguous

moondragon8's review against another edition

funny tense fast-paced

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

3.75

i liked it! i will say you can kind of tell this is a novel written because someone thought "wow, wouldn't it be cool if..." and then just kind of went from there without giving too much thought to the meat of the story. (the thing that really kept nagging at me was that supposedly the island had declared itself an independent nation from the us, but like...come on. anyone can declare that, it doesn't mean the us will actually agree. and how much technology did they have, anyway? and how big was this island???) 
the story was also darker than i expected, in a sort of weird way where you...didn't really feel the emotional resonance of those moments, but were just like "damn, that's fucked up. we're just moving on from that? okay". i guess some of this could be attributed to the epistolary format, but...i dunno.
still, a fun kind of experiment, and a truly unique form of the dystopian novel. i'm glad i picked it up!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Grief, Violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Suicide attempt

cartermon4's review against another edition

funny tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Alcoholism

redheadorganist's review against another edition

challenging tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Alcoholism and Suicide attempt

Minor: Death and Confinement

michaelion's review against another edition

challenging funny informative inspiring 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? No

5.0

What an amazing and PERFECT book!!! I was imagining the book being taught in English classes and how this would've made me so excited to read. I was so excited to read it at 24 years old, I read it without the audiobook! What a cool challenge to have kids try to write without certain letters! The history of the island is also interesting too, which meant for students learning bigger, more archaic words! I knew I was gonna give it 5 stars before I was 25 pages in. 

It's also a good representation of so many things kids will encounter as they get older. Idol worship / fanaticism / religious cults, fascism and political activism against it. What a perfect book! What a perfect book!!!

Unrelated to the book, whenever I get a new pen I always tested it by writing "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." I find out IMMEDIATELY I've been writing the sentence wrong FOR YEARS!!!!! I know there was a time when I wrote it right! What happened!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Religious bigotry, Bullying, and Police brutality

Moderate: Death, Violence, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, Death of parent, Deportation, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abandonment, Grief, Ableism, and Murder

Minor: Gaslighting, Racial slurs, and Misogyny

annarosemiddlemass's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt

raspberryrebel's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide attempt

laguerrelewis's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective fast-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

4.5

I have heard nothing but praise for this book, and I’m happy to say it certainly met my expectations!! In equal measure heartwarming & funny as it is horrifyingly relevant, this is a quick read that paints an unfortunately believable picture of censorship and the slippery slope to totalitarianism. Reminds us of how important language, community, and our freedoms truly are.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Confinement, Xenophobia, Violence, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, and Death

Minor: Suicide attempt

pastlifetragedy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Alcoholism

nagoatsis's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Super fun to read! The concept gets a little old towards the very end but it’s very engaging to read through it and always be looking for letters that aren’t supposed to be used

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, and Suicide attempt