Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

10 reviews

baileycowen's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This book really surprised me in a good way. At first, the main character felt shallow and selfish (she was written to be that way in some ways). The chaos and fervor of youth is so clear, and the journey to finding what is right for you. The reckoning with your past and your present, and holding fast to people you love is so good. I loved the audiobook, and really just loved the whole story. Would recommend looking up trigger warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Infidelity, and Abortion

Moderate: Grief, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Homophobia

kirstenw13's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

So good, so sweet. There were twists, there were turns. There were besties and their woes. A great book about friendship, what love can mean, the publishing industry and abortion access in Ireland in the early 2010s. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Homophobia, and Sexual content

Minor: Cursing, Terminal illness, Blood, Alcohol, Homophobia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Medical content, Drug use, Vomit, and Infertility

shelbygibbs's review

challenging emotional funny tense fast-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? Yes

4.75

So enjoyed this! I’m in love with Carey as a character and I think everyone is so well written. Each chapter I said id pause there and was forced to keep reading by how good it was…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Abortion

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Biphobia, Classism, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Addiction, Blood, Fatphobia, Drug use, Pregnancy, Grief, Vomit, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Body shaming

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

the bridge of "You're On Your Own, Kid" by Taylor Swift, excerpted here for your reading pleasure:

The jokes weren't funny, I took the money
My friends from home don't know what to say
I looked around in a blood-soaked gown
And I saw something they can't take away
'Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned
Everything you lose is a step you take
So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it
You've got no reason to be afraid
[…]
You're on your own, kid
You always have been

i'm not sure if i didn't like the ending or if i just didn't want it to end.

i'm also conflicted on the narrative structure of being told through memory with reflections and commentary peppered in. it obviously allows for deeper, more mature insight, as well as effective foreshadowing, but oftentimes it was along the lines of "i was so stupid then" which like, show don't tell, and we're definitely sufficiently shown. which i don't think is a bad thing! but i know for others it is, and so this setup feels like a concession to the crowd that can't stand, for example, Sally Rooney novels because her twenty-something young women characters are annoying or self-involved or clueless (for example, from a review of Conversations with Friends: "One of the most pretentious and self absorbed gen-z/millenial 'I am a suffering artist who is better than anyone else' main characters. Something about the damaged female writer character that is really trying my patience these days"). i am a strong advocate for allowing women characters to be annoying and self-involved and clueless. that's not to say you have to enjoy reading about them, but i don't like media catered to people who believe otherwise; just count them out of your intended audience. so the narration winds up feeling to me like a lampshading cop-out.

big thought out of the way, yeah i loved this, a truly funny in-depth character study showing significant growth and change. i fell in love with Rachel and James (Devlin; Carey is fine). storygraph was spot-on with this recommendation, thanks babe <3

miscellaneous: i was happy to see Rachel become friends with other women by the end. being surrounded almost exclusively by men for that long cannot be good for one's mental health

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Cursing, Grief, Blood, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Infertility, Cancer, Chronic illness, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Bullying

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Death, Excrement, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual harassment, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Vomit

franklybookish's review against another edition

emotional funny tense medium-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Infidelity

Moderate: Abortion and Alcohol

Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Classism, Grief, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Body shaming, and Alcohol

ninaszewczyk's review

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Infidelity, and Grief

Moderate: Miscarriage, Outing, Cancer, Pregnancy, and Mental illness

Minor: Infertility, Body shaming, Abortion, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Biphobia

louisasophie's review

emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Homophobia and Grief

jkamler's review against another edition

funny reflective fast-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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Infidelity, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicide, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, and Outing

Minor: Classism, Cancer, Drug use, Grief, and Death of parent

maregred's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Infidelity

Moderate: Infertility and Classism

Minor: Grief, Death of parent, Drug use, and Homophobia

marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition

challenging funny fast-paced

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

5.0

The Rachel Incident.  I rolled my eyes at the title at first, but once I’d read the climactic scene, it suddenly became a perfect fit.  This is the hilarious and heartfelt story of platonic soulmates, and the writing is so fast-paced and witty that I never wanted to put it down.  With undeniable humor leading the way, O’Donoghue joins the intricate character relationships of Sally Rooney with the harsh realities of late aughts/early 2010s Ireland—recession, barriers to reproductive care, homophobia.  This book is so good it makes me want to squeal and do a little dance and also read everything else Caroline O’Donoghue has written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Alcohol, and Medical content

Moderate: Homophobia, Drug use, Sexual content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abortion, Infertility, Terminal illness, and Grief

Minor: Chronic illness and Vomit