Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

78 reviews

tkatt20's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

A warning for anyone looking to read this: this is a very trigger heavy book, if there are sensitive topics that you need to avoid i would probably avoid this one since pertty much everything is brought up at least once. Please check content warnings before reading. 

Im kind of lost on what I feel about this book. It was good, but I tend to be a detective when reading, so I was searching for every plot twist and I solved 90% of this book within the first 50 or so pages. That didn't ruin my enjoyment of the book, it just made it seem very slow paced for me when I usually like quicker fantasy novels. The premise and the storyline was very interesting, I lost a little on the world building, but considering the entire book is set in a prison that the MC arrived at when she was 7, it kind of makes sense. The characters were interesting enough to hold my attention, and for being only 17, the MC was very mature and resourceful. I would have loved to see more of the side characters and some of the little details of the Prison more fleshed out but it was alright. Everything was mostly saved by the ending in my opinion.
    If you're the type of person who doesn't search for plot twists and just wants a fun and quick read then this would be perfect for you. This checks off all the boxes of a basic YA fantasy and it was definitely worth the time. The ending was amazing and I hope the next one does more in terms of world building.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Torture, Violence, Sexual assault, Slavery, Mental illness, and Rape

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Medical content, Physical abuse, Vomit, Chronic illness, and Addiction

Minor: Sexism, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Bullying, and Child death

stephaniemcuervo's review

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent

Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma

Minor: Sexual assault, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Torture, and War

sarahjacobs1122's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was a great read. I saw one of the three big reveals coming, but I was surprised by the other two. I thought the middle was a little slow, which is why I lowered my rating by .5. I liked how the author developed the characters in the book. I thought the idea of the trials was interesting, but a little tedious. I think that this is a book for older YA due to some content. Overall, I am itching to get to the rest of the series to see how the big end reveal develops. I would recommend it to those interested, but check trigger warnings for those who think they may need it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Self harm, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Child abuse and Child death

kassidyreads's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Violence, Physical abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Rape, and Self harm

Minor: Addiction and Drug use

izzy_mckeough's review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

Written by Lynette Noni, one of my favourite fantasy authors, I had very high expectations for this book. I have to say, I was slightly disappointed by the lack of compelling plot and very slow pace. However, the book did have good characters who were believable and 3-dimensional (my favourite being Naari). The last few pages also revealed some huge plot twists which confused me at the time, but thinking back on it there was some (very subtle) foreshadowing. Overall, in my opinion one of Noni's weakest books but I'll persevere through to the second novel and hope it can add some more interesting plot to a fairly well-developed setting with good characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Death, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Medical content

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Blood

chamaeleontis's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This book was great. It had so many amazing, and natural plot twists. I only guessed 1 of them, and part of 2 others. Nothing was set up that wasn't followed through on. The characters are all 3D, and morally realistic, which I personally really enjoyed. That's not even to mention the writing. Lynette Noni's style is spectacular. It flows so naturally, and is very enjoyable.

The one nit-picky thing was a plot point I personally didn't like, which is why it's 4.75, rather than 5.

It bothered me that we never got to know Tilda despite her being right there. I would have had a problem with it regardless of her being Kiva's mom, but that made it more frustrating. In the same vein, I get why it was done, but I feel that there could have at least been one full sentence exchanged

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who loves fantasy but is sick of repetitive plots. There's a few common tropes, but they are well done, with unique takes. I'm really looking forward to the next book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Torture, Violence, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexual violence, Drug use, Terminal illness, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Blood, Ableism, Misogyny, Slavery, Medical content, and Sexism

maregred's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Violence

sienas_books's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Self harm

Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, War, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

spicy_guava's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death and Torture

Child death: A characters younger sibling is killed at a young age and the character recounts being there and witnessing it. Torture: A character is punished during later chapters and therefore whipped.

nirellis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

It felt like the book really began after the 200 page mark but oh my god was it worth the read. THAT ENDING. WHAT. My mind is in smithereens.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Confinement

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Death, and Medical content

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and Self harm