Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor

42 reviews

sefalinde's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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: Transphobia, Self harm, and Gun violence

Moderate: Death, Dysphoria, Murder, Bullying, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Biphobia

tryslora's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

 I loved this. Saw another review that described it as being both suspenseful and like a hug, and yeah, that pretty much says it for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying

kyanitecourage's review

dark hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Hate crime, Death, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Child death, Bullying, Stalking, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Murder

Moderate: Biphobia, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

emmiej's review

challenging emotional informative 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Murder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia

dododenise's review against another edition

emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

I took a chance at reading a mystery, knowing that in the past those plots don’t work for me. Sadly, this one also didn’t.
Seeing a nonbinary autistic mc is what made me pick up this book in the first place. I loved Sam and the other characters. They were wonderful and pulled me through this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Mental illness, Biphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Ableism, Outing, and Grief

Minor: Car accident and Cancer

valereads's review

emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

Review to come

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

Moderate: Medical content, Murder, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Biphobia, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Self harm

ashylibrarian's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.25

I had a great time reading this story and following Sam along their challenging adventure of life in a new town. 

Sam's character is so dynamic and full of emotion that I could not help but feel as if I was next to them the entire time, seeing the story play out from their perspective. 

I appreciated the subtle magical-realism that played into the mystery unfolding.

Can we take a MOMENT to appreciate the relationship Sam has with their dad? The positive representation of a single-father household was truly warming to read about, and the ways in which Sam and Junius communicate and engage with each other are beautiful. It's not perfect and clean all the time, but it felt happy and true. 

I also love the cover!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Bullying, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Death, Biphobia, and Child death

Minor: Alcoholism, Self harm, Cancer, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol

piikasmalls's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Homophobia, Bullying, and Transphobia

acasiamae's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Mental illness

Minor: Outing, Vomit, and Bullying

thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition

5.0

Okay, welcome to one of my favorite reads of 2023! Seriously, I loved this book so much. I don't have the words. It was just everything. Also, wasn't expecting a murder mystery but I'm here for it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Grief, Homophobia, Death, Transphobia, and Bullying

Moderate: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Stalking

Minor: Outing