Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

15 reviews

melshoo's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Child abuse, Drug use, Child death, Mental illness, Drug abuse, and Abandonment

adearajean's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

A little slow and the character's decisions feel plot-driven and not authentic. Took me a little while to get into because there are a lot of characters and names. I didn't feel connected to some immediately and you have to care about the characters since there's little plot. 

I did not like the redemption of Elizabeth. It was forced and not deserved.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Incest, and Addiction

kizzy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Addiction, and Drug use

References religious cultism and associated child abuse

staylorreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Addiction, Death, Grief, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Stalking, Physical abuse, and Violence

mimpart's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

This may just be me, but I liked all of the characters except for Zoey - she felt a little too Mary Sueish for me and didn't have a very memorable personality. Also the plot was kind of basic. Good plot twists at the end though! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Child abuse, Stalking, Drug use, Grief, and Drug abuse

rover_under's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted

• 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

3.5

It was a charming book. I enjoyed the setting and grew to like the characters, but I feel like by the end of the book everything felt a little underdeveloped. A lot is said about the history of Mallow Island and and the characters' backstories, but I feel like there just weren't enough moments of the characters experiencing things in the present to really connect with them.

 It felt expository at points and I think with a book with such an emphasis on the scenery and sense of place, it would have been nice to explore it a bit more or have a few more characters outside the Dellawisp residents to add vibrancy of the narrative.

I would have liked to have seen more of the characters bonding, overcoming shared obstacles, and doing things together so I could have felt more convinced by the ending, where the characters are very close and refer to each other as their family. Their challenges felt very individual for the most part, and it wasn't until a few moments near the end that the characters helped each other address their mutual struggles. 

I liked that certain characters had secrets or things that they only shared with one other character, like Charlotte and Mac revealing their pasts', but I felt like something to unite the whole group, including Fraiser, was missing.

The magical realism elements didn't go as far as I would have liked, but that's a personal preference. Overall a cozy book that I felt could have had a bit more meat on it when it came to the story and the setting.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Toxic relationship

redbirdreading's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Drug use, Addiction, Death of parent, Death, and Toxic relationship

kbbru's review against another edition

mysterious relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Drug use

milojean_reads's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Drug use

Minor: Pedophilia, Incest, Child death, and Sexual assault

blackcatkai's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

CW: death, alcohol/drug use, addiction, violence, abuse, pregnancy & sex work mentioned. one character practices the art of henna, both for work & for pleasure, which may read as cultural appropriation to some readers.

this book was overall a wonderful read. it has found family, ghosts, grief, love, and coming of age at different points in ones life. a multi-pov book with a little bit of a mystery and hard to put down. i laughed a bit, rooted for the residents of the dellawisp, and got a bit emotional with the ending. i definitely recommend this one, especially if you enjoy a contemporary novel with a little magical realism sprinkled in.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Addiction, and Drug use

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, and Grief