Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Les Optimistes by Rebecca Makkai

6 reviews

juliej0715's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

I loved this book. It was a slow start for me, but I also read it in super small chunks at first so it was hard to keep people straight. About 1/3 in, it really picked up and I couldn't stop thinking about it and reading it. It's so sad yet perpetually full of hope and love and friendship and caring, and reflecting on what's important in life. It was so good I want to read it again. I wish there were more books exactly like this one. I also loved it being set in boystown (now northalsted) Chicago and knowing all the places they were going around Lakeview and the city. Just so good overall.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Police brutality, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Genocide, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Grief, Toxic relationship, Pandemic/Epidemic, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, and Medical content

kimveach's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-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

3.5

I wanted to like this book more than I did.  The dual timelines broke up the story too much for me.  I preferred the story set in 1980s Chicago to the one in the present day.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cancer, Classism, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Ableism, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Violence, Vomit, Cursing, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Grief, Outing, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Blood, Body shaming, Dementia, Drug use, Excrement, Medical content, and Abandonment

cady_sass's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I am absolutely floored that there aren’t more people (at least in my universe) talking about this book. I am in AWE. What a stunningly heartbreaking story. I loved every part of this, even the parts that brought tears to my eyes. It will weigh on your heart, on your soul, and live in your mind. When I wasn’t reading all i wanted to do was pick it back up. Even though it’s an inherently sad story, and you know that no matter what it’s going to be sad at the end, you still kind of hope for the happy ending you know you won’t get. There are what feels like a million characters and somehow I cared about all of them, even the ones I hated. Everyone in world should read this and I hope it gets the attention it deserves.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Terminal illness, Death, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Bullying, Alcoholism, Classism, Homophobia, Blood, Chronic illness, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

correct_rper's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, Terminal illness, and Death

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Infidelity and Blood

charvermont's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Drug use, Pregnancy, Vomit, Violence, Police brutality, and Homophobia

gagne's review against another edition

emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Vomit, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Medical content, Homophobia, Grief, Excrement, Cursing, Blood, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Death of parent and Infidelity

Minor: Pregnancy