Reviews tagging 'Death'

Bellies by Nicola Dinan

40 reviews

milliemarilyn's review

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emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad slow-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

This was one of the most beautiful books I have read in a long time. It is very character driven, with the plot being taken from the relationships between the characters. If you are a plot-driven reader and need snappy plot points then you may struggle with this one as it is slower paced. 
I adored the characters in this book, I could read about Tom and Ming forever. The writing is raw and tender, the characters are increasingly vulnerable as they move into adulthood and try to figure out who they are and what that means for not only themselves but the others in their lives. Overall this is a stunning and real exploration of youth, queerness, transness, friendship and relationships and I have nothing negative to say about it, hence the 5 star review. 

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hanhantap's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0


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libraryoflanelle's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

I adored this book with all my heart. It easily became a new favourite. 

I finished 'Bellies' in almost one sitting, and it absolutely consumed me. I fell in love with these characters in record time and felt all of their emotions right along with them. Nicola writes these characters in such a way that you immediately feel like you yourself are part of their little chaotic but loving found family. I truly cried, laughed out loud, and kicked my lil’ feet through this book.

I went into this one knowing almost nothing, and I would highly recommend you do the same if it is safe for you to do so. I have included content warnings in my StoryGraph review as always, so just make sure you’re safe. If you’ve been debating picking this one up, consider this your push.

I borrowed this one from the library - shout out to local libraries - so will definitely be buying a copy asap, as I know this will be one that I come back to in future!

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kirstym25's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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whittlebit's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.5


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alexgo's review against another edition

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

5.0


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estruch's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5


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b_fruits's review against another edition

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3.75

Ehhhhhhhh 😭 I wanted to love this so much, and I did for most of it, but the big Plot Twist™️ simply did not work for me. It felt unnecessary and I didn’t find that it deepened any of the characters or moved the plot along in a smooth way. I was disappointed by how much I grew to dislike the characters in a way that felt unintentional. Some heavy themes were touched on so briefly that they felt inappropriate (
primarily Cass and Ming’s ED issues
. Still, the writing was beautiful and evocative and comfortingly relatable at many times. I would love to read more from the author. 

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taralouise52's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.25


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drrooly's review against another edition

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reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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