Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - No estás en la lista

Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

No estás en la lista by Alison Espach

831 reviews

morrisemily18's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

14kirkn's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Complicated

Content Warnings

monalyisha's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

“Every wedding, even a successful wedding, is a waste…But…”

I’ve been thinking about weddings a lot, as I write my sister’s wedding ceremony, with my side hustle as an officiant and my husband’s profession as a photographer in the full swing of wedding season. It’s also our 10th wedding anniversary next week! And let me tell you, the above quote is absolutely true. But so is the “but.” At least, that’s what I tell myself to justify the waste. 😅

I read this for my IRL book club and forgot that it was going to be set in Newport. I live in RI, worked (briefly) in a fancy hotel in Newport (worst job of my life), and I recognized, with glee, many of the locations. We even have a gift certificate for a Water Journey (at the unnamed Bodhi Spa), which we’ve inexplicably been sitting on for way too long!

I found this compulsively readable. I appreciate Espach’s voice. She deals with some big topics like, “Who determines what “waste” is — especially when examining the trite phrases we use after a death (self-inflicted or otherwise), like “What a waste”? She also has a talent for writing realistic and quick dialogue, which is rare, and which balances the weightiness of her subject matter. Furthermore, where else was I going to learn that Pawtucket, RI was the last place in America to make socks? Who knew?!

Not a perfect text. It’s very white and very privileged but pretty self-aware. I managed to refrain from judging the characters too harshly, which is a feat for me and I’m sure has something to do with the author’s talent. She makes it clear that everyone is going through something, and oftentimes that “something” is huge (depression, grief). I’ll admit I did judge the MC’s suitability as a pet owner. 🙈 Ultimately, a book I’m very happy to have read.

Content Warnings

phantastic_jules's review against another edition

5.0

dark funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Witty, morbid, hopeful full of perfectly imperfect characters.

Content Warnings

contextremoved's review against another edition

5.0

dark funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Content Warnings

britlave916's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Content Warnings

bex922's review against another edition

4.0

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

axkerti's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 29%

Honestly, the tonal shift from I'm going to kill myself to I'm happy to be alive I'm going to be a new person in the span of like a paragraph without any sort of therapuetic intervention, just the MC being worried she was going to miss the end of a speech made me give up any sense of realism in the novel.

Content Warnings