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agd77's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Incredibly sad, not a lighthearted read in the slightest.dirkerezekiel's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
kirsty_irwin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Incest, Miscarriage, Dementia, Car accident, and Outing
gabrielleclarke05's review against another edition
I Dnf this because I was skimming through the book and got to Willems death scene. I cannot grow attached to these characters and have them ripped away I will die
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria
shashi's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
swynne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit and Stalking
monaliest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
pipchiappa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Yanagihara’s writing is so real, so raw, it’s truly beautiful work––but that means that her realism is so poignant, her descriptions are so graphic, her characters are so vivid.
Do I think it is trauma porn? A little. I do think it didn’t need so much, and some of it could have been left out.
Do I think it is overtly graphic? Yes, it is very graphic. It didn’t bother me as much as I know it has bothered some people, but I think that is purely because I am not a visual person and don’t visualise what I am reading. I never read 13 Reasons Why but I did watch the Tv show and I hated it because I did not think it needed to be that graphic; reading A Little Life did not give me that same reaction, even though Yanagihara’s writing is so real and so graphic. If you are a visual reader, I think you have to keep that in mind before reading the book.
The only reason I am giving this book 4 stars is because I did think, somewhere in the middle, that it was so loaded in trauma that it was becoming unbelievable and it wasn’t necessary. I think the book could have been just as poignant without it. But, to be clear, I did not hate this book. In fact, the opposite: I loved it and have already re-read some pages here and there. Partly because I am not ready to let go of the characters. The writing is stellar, the relationships built are vividly wonderful and relatable to some degree, the commentary on trauma and mental health and friendship is remarkable.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
hardxstep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
karolaa's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail