Reviews tagging 'Child death'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

760 reviews

delilah_reads23's review against another edition

The book feels like a roller coaster, not the one that excites but the one that makes you nauseous. The lows are very low, and the highs are very high, and pretty soon it becomes a predictable pattern. The author claimed she does not believe in therapy, and it shows. Also, just look at the triggers for this book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Cursing, Death, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

healingfish's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Oof 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Suicide, Child death, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Chronic illness, Death, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Violence

fpcat99's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Body shaming, Grief, Pedophilia, Medical content, Bullying, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Vomit, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Rape, Addiction, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Sexual content, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Sexual violence, Torture, Abandonment, Child abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence

ashlynregan's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful novels I have ever read. Treat it with reverence, if not caution. It is not for everyone, but if you’re like me then you will never be able to stop thinking about it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Cursing, Drug use, Terminal illness, Racial slurs, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Torture, Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Car accident, Addiction, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Rape, Infidelity, Abandonment, Gore, Medical content, Self harm, and Suicide

laurennimmo's review against another edition

challenging sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Torture, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Grief, Domestic abuse, Child death, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape

arlo_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Mental illness, Grief, Death, Rape, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Adult/minor relationship

erikabites's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Rape, Self harm, Drug use, Violence, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, and Child death

neontulips's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I'm furious. The craft of this book was so excellent, asides from what I would say amount to some planning and character writing issues that begin about the final quarter of the book, that it bothers me immensely that every lesson in the book emanates such a pessimism, that they all amount essentially to a bleak miserable world that does not do much to fight Jude's contention that his life is not worth living. Around the point in the book where I began to think, wow, Yanagihara really understands that the only way to really go on living is to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known, she created a false world in which it was impossible to allow oneself that relief,

and concluded a story which purports essentially that the people around Jude should have let him go, as a man only fifty, because his life was so hard

. To treat such violence as inevitable is to put that violence into the world. This book is beautiful and miserly and irresponsible. I hated giving it a rating for this purpose.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Outing, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Vomit, Abandonment, Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Child death, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Medical content

kuya_kes's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

 They say people in your life are seasons, for they come & they go. But in Hanya Yanagihara's beautifully detailed, emotionally devastating yet cathartic construction about the lives of four lifelong friends through their turbulent, profound and traumatic relationships with each other and the world around them, you feel like you've spent a lifetime of seasons in their world within it's 720 pages.

Centralised through the life and times of Jude St. Francis, one of the most emotionally complex characters ever commited to fiction, the reader is tasked with navigating through empathy and sympathy as you see Jude through his own eyes, often with distortion, and through those who are within his orbit.

To know Jude St. Francis through his friends is to love Jude St. Francis. But to know Jude St. Francis through his own eyes is to fear (for) Jude St. Francis. I've read a number of books that deal with neglect, abuse and feeling unloved but none until now have taken me on the same visceral journey of turmoil, shame and blame they way this has. At times when I felt frustrated, angry or sunken at character behavior, I would then go on to feel guilty about it due to the complexity of how someone's damage and self sabotage destroys reason. Marvelous writing did this to me.

The expertly ways in which Yanagihara weaves perpectives which add more layers into each character makes you care & invest when they are effected, get frustrated when they use poor judgement and widen your eyes to both re-read and rapidly read on continue to verify when something unthinkable happens to them as if the trauma also involves you.

After closing the book, I find myself still thinking about the characters. Not only how they ended up but where things could have been different or what they would have experienced all along the way in the time in between what the book covered. I felt a sense of loss saying goodbye to the characters and thankful to have escaped it's world's ugliness.

This may end up becoming one of the best reads of my life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Body horror, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicide, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, and Violence

jodireich's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death and Drug abuse