Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

447 reviews

meredith_williams_'s review

emotional funny inspiring 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

This book absolutely lived up to the hype! Lessons in Chemistry is a heartfelt, witty and inspiring story about the value of found family and the importance of being true to yourself. The characters in this book are so well written and the plot is engaging from start to finish (even if there are a few plot points that are a bit outlandish!) Because it takes place in the 1950s and 1960s and because the main character is a white woman, it is important to note that the feminism is not the most intersectional. The author kind of address the racial injustice of the period, but not in a way that feels like it was done with the most care. Overall, I think that a lot of women will still relate to the main character and her experiences with sexism, as well as with other characters in the book who are challenging the status quo of society. Definitely a great read and one that I will recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Suicide, Vomit, and Car accident

Minor: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Blood, and Religious bigotry

shibbie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit

shingekiyes's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.5

i read this per my aunt’s recommendation with zero knowledge of the book going into it. it is about the generation of women who came just after my grandmother, adult women in the late 50s and 60s who were on the precipice of the next great American feminist movement but still greatly impacted by WW2 social norms.

i did not expect this book to impact me so much! i love women’s fiction, but i tend to prefer more literary works than this. there was a very clear timeline and plot, which i appreciated, and though the book covered serious topics, the tone was mostly lighthearted. 

the POVs in this book were absolutely incredible. i LOVED getting 6:30’s perspective, and the type of head hopping that would normally
bother me was used very strategically and successfully! 

there was a HEAVY dose of found family here that i did not expect at all. i welled up in tears many times over during scenes where Mad and Elizabeth got to experience the love and support of their own little community. 

also, i SHOUTED when the

Vogue

reveal happened. Harriet slayed!!! Best character award!!! 

i can definitely see how this book lends itself to a TV series, which i plan on watching! overall, this was a really fun and interesting read outside my comfort zone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Abortion, and Alcohol

kailiyahknight's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, and Death of parent

soffemf's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective fast-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

5.0

Really enjoyed it. Easy read, but there are some trigger warnings. Cultural, religious and gender-based themes are still relevant in 2024. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, and Sexism

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Religious bigotry

Minor: Pedophilia and Death of parent

my_personal_escape's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, and Abandonment

lokes's review against another edition

funny hopeful informative 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? No

2.0

tw: mentions of rape

Well, I’m not really sure how to rate this one… I quite liked the characters and the stories, even if it bordered on the whimsical and imaginary at times (like the hyper intelligent dog, the many coincidences between characters and especially the major plot points, etc), and the main character was feminist in the sense of the 21th century, which did throw me off a few times. Also, there is no intersectionality to the feminism of the main character, and her motto seems to be „tell women you’re proud of them and make their unpaid, invisible work (namely the house hold chores and child rearing) visible and tell them, that you’re proud of them doing it, and they’ll revolt and become suffragettes!“
The only really bad part would be the rape scenes, because the author gave the characters absolutely no reaction to that (apart from her crying once and being slightly disturbed while giving her police statement), and later even went as far as to make her pull out a kitchen knife when another male character tries to rape her (which leads to him immediately having a heart attack), all the while never letting Elizabeth have the room to acknowledge the trauma she suffered before, or working on said trauma, as if the rape made her a better, stronger women and wasn’t trauma at all, but simply something she needed to go through in order to become a feminist/independent woman. 
Apart from that, I think I liked it, even though the underlying plot is still about a man - her lover - and his long lost family. But hey, he was “one of the good ones”, to say it in the characters words…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

juniorgoldengirl's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Grief

Minor: Domestic abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

storiesandshiraz's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Domestic abuse

iriswishes's review against another edition

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Grief

Moderate: Fatphobia, Suicide, Blood, and Vomit

Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment