Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Dark Room Etiquette by Robin Roe

6 reviews

riale's review

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? Yes

4.25

Dark, but also inspiring? It's a hard journey, but it's worth it. This book hooked me in, and it affected how I perceive trauma, hope, and love.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Stalking, Bullying, Confinement, and Mental illness

Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Sexual assault

serial killer

metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Bullying, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Violence

Minor: Car accident, Suicide, and Vomit

lexieellis13's review

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I have no words. This was my first full read of 2023 and it was just incredible. A sensational purview of trauma and the ways it alters the brain, as well as the range of ways trauma presents in different individuals. I simply cannot describe how the author’s way of writing made me feel like I was spinning around and falling with the main character. It was hard to tell who he was but also not difficult at all.

Incredible❤️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Mental illness, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Child death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Biphobia, Infidelity, and Fatphobia

bimenace's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Cursing, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Bullying, Grief, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness

Moderate: Classism, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death, Violence, Vomit, Hate crime, Murder, Death of parent, and Drug use

Minor: Gun violence

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Sayers Wayte has grown up never wanting for anything. Living in a wealthy family means that everything has come easy for him. Until one day, he gets kidnapped. Kidnapped by a man who tells him that his entire life up until then has been a lie. According to this man, he's not who he thinks he is.

Now trapped in a cellar, Sayers has to go along with everything his kidnapper says. If he doesn't, things could end up even worse for him. But as Sayers pretends to be someone else in order to survive, the lines between imagination and reality start to blur. Sayers is no longer sure who he really is. And if he's ever going to get out of the dark room.

Thanks to NetGalley, Robin Roe, and HarperTeen for an advanced copy of Dark Room Etiquette to review! It's the perfect time of year for this kind of dark, gritty story with a hint of hope. Roe's writing in this hooks you from the beginning; once you pick up the book, it's difficult to put it down.

The first thing that hooks you is the characters. While Sayers is not the most likeable person at the beginning of the book, that changes. A lot of this story is about trauma. How trauma changes you, how we process trauma, how there's hope at the end of the journey. This isn't just a book about Sayers's kidnapping; it's also about the healing. It's a heavy book to read, but all of the emotions and the changes Sayers goes through feel grounded in reality.

Outside of Sayers, there are a lot of other well rounded characters as well. After his kidnapping, Sayers gets to see the real side to some of his friends. Which allows him to truly see himself as well. If you're a fan of mostly character driven stories, with a little bit of plot, you'll definitely love this aspect of the story.

All in all, this is a harrowing book about survival. About overcoming trauma. Check the trigger warnings before reading, but if you're in the right place mentally, I highly recommend it!
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This book is dark, tense, but also full of hope. Stay tuned for a full review!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Bullying, Child abuse, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Child death

sarasreadingnook's review

4.5

4.5 Stars

When I sat down to start this book, I knew a couple of things: this is about a sixteen-year-old kidnapped boy told that his former life was all a lie and that he needed to adapt to his new environment to survive. I thought I came prepared for the emotions I would feel along this journey - I was not. 

First, the book is unsettling. Even before the kidnapping, I felt uneasy due to conflicting emotions. Sayers is a highly complex character; you see his weakness, strengths, and humanity. Presented as a teenager from an incredibly wealthy background, I appreciated how his privilege impacts his behaviour at school and with his family and friends. 

Secondly, Sayers has to adapt to survive, and how he does so impacted me immensely. As the plot progressed, I could appreciate how a knowledge base and background research would be essential to write this story. The book presented some theories in psychology that impacted Sayers in the story, some he recalls later on. 

Third, many characters were multi-dimensional - you could see a clear contrast between their personalities at the beginning and end of the book. In fact, some characters were almost unrecognizable by the end and others, such as Garrett, were static. Sayers' personality experienced many changes; some of the directions his mind went brought me to tears. 

Finally, I like that this was a story not just of the event - the kidnapping, but responses to trauma and the aftermath. Learning to cope in an abusive environment was Sayers' key to survival. Sadly, the intense trauma he faced hindered him in some very unexpected and heartbreaking ways. At several points, I desperately wanted to plead with Sayers on what he should do - I can imagine other readers having the same response. 

Please review the content warnings before reading this book. This book is such a memorable, emotional, and intense read. It is my first time reading the author's works and I look forward to reading many more!

Thank you to NetGalley, Robin Roe, and HarperTeen for providing this review copy. All opinions are my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Child abuse, and Bullying

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Child death