Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller

13 reviews

applesodaperson's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I think this book had a bunch of potential, but ended up falling short at the end. I think the ending was pretty predictable. I also wish the more spooky aspects of seeing ghosts and stuff would have been in it more. I like the atmosphere of the ruined old house though. I also think that there wasn’t a clear enough motive for what happens at the end of the book.
Read from the Provo library.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Murder and Pregnancy

seawarrior's review

dark lighthearted mysterious reflective

4.0

Regardless of how Bitter Orange was not as twisty or thrilling as the inner reviews made it out to be, I was glued to the pages during the latter half of the book and kept tumbling the characters and their narration around in my head for days afterward. The language in the book is beautiful, dazzling with imagery and the allure of friendship. I would reccomend reading this book for those features, although I found the twist ending somewhat predictable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia

hellokatya's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.5

i went into this books with really high hopes… came out the other side very disappointed.
now let me be clear, this book absolutely wasn’t made for my tastes, so take my feelings with a grain of salt.

•  the writing was fantastic — claire fuller creates a beautiful atmosphere and is incredible at description and making words come to life; i just wasn’t looking for that in a book. i found myself skimming passages and having to re-read a few times to understand what was happening
• the writing style took quite a while to get used to. it reads a little odd - i’m not sure what it is - and it took me out of the immersion. it was a chore for a while to try and figure out what was being portrayed 
• i rarely wanted to pick it back up once i’d put it down — the only thing that kept me going was hoping the ending would suffice, but it kind of just went flat. i wasn’t impressed and felt there was a lot that could’ve been explored further.
• the ending felt very rushed and more closing down than finishing up a story

i would recommend for anyone who enjoys thorough atmosphere and imagery, with a taste for slow burns. this just wasn’t my kind of book, but i’m sure other people would love it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

Minor: Pregnancy

erisouls's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I was hooked for the first half of the book, and then it felt very predictable after that. Maybe that was on purpose and was part of the overarching metaphor and I just don’t get it. 

Also the main character seemed to me to be on the spectrum. Many of her thought processes were quite similar to my own and others I’ve spoken to who are also autistic. Perhaps unintended representation. Either way loved the main character

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Sexual content, Suicide, Murder, Grief, Infertility, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Religious bigotry, Vomit, Blood, and Infidelity

painausten314's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Body shaming, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

lelly's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcohol, Violence, Sexual content, Murder, Mental illness, Animal death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Child death, Toxic friendship, and Infidelity

jennikreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Murder, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, and Infidelity

keirahelena_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

georgiesutton's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

I feel like this book got better and better as it went on. Initially I wasn’t sure if it was for me but the plot really picked up and was full of intrigue with elements being revealed as we hear more of the story. I thought it was written interestingly and I felt wrapped up Frances’ life as she told the story looking back 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Suicide and Death

morbidplot's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Vomit