Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Musím tě zradit by Ruta Sepetys

17 reviews

alexklinect's review against another edition

challenging informative tense fast-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

5.0

I read this in two days! I felt that the author did an excellent job at capturing the voice of a teenage boy, the pacing was perfect for this kind of story, and I could tell that she had done a multitude of in-depth historical research.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, and War

Minor: Excrement, Vomit, and Sexual harassment

jem_carstairs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and Stalking

Minor: Domestic abuse

mformato's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

An exciting and fast paced story. I had no predictions for anything because it was full of twists and turns. I enjoyed being able to see inside of history, Sepetys really cares about accuracy in her literature. To know that the living conditions of this story were real is heartbreaking. I also like how the story wraps around if you go back to the prologue after reading the end.

Not a full five stars because of personal reasons. I felt like there was a lot of telling rather than showing in the beginning. Also Cristian felt a little too American for the story. Plot points happened a bit too much out of convenience.

But overall I enjoyed the story and would recommend the book to someone who enjoys reading about revolutions, noir, and an undying spirit of hope in a hopeless land.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

nickymaund's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

darumachan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

This is one of those rare books that does everything it sets out to do-- it is at once a gripping thriller, a thoughtful political commentary, and a moving coming-of-age story. Check out the author's note for insight into the connection between historical research and writing a work of historical fiction. I also appreciated the use of Romanian language in some of the dialogue and the chapter headings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Grief

bringmybooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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

One more finished for my #12BooksRecommendedBy12Friends challenge and the further we get into the year the more amazed I am that I haven’t already read some of these books - especially this one.

✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

This was a stunningly researched and unbearably heartbreaking book based on the grim reality of decades of oppression felt by the Romanian people during the latter half of the 20th century, and while it was hard to read, it also felt really necessary.

I was familiar with a bit of Romanian history prior to reading this book, but after reading this I realized just how much I didn’t know. I have such an appreciation for well researched historical fiction novels because they not only give me an idea of what was happening throughout the time periods & locales they are written in, but also the urge to do research on my own to learn and understand more (and absolutely ALL of Ruta Sepetys' books have done just this).

This book reminded me of Salt to the Sea in that it had short chapters, some choppy (on purpose) sentence structure, and once you were invested (happened at about 50pgs for me), you’re not going to put it down until you finish. (Unlike Salt to the Sea, this book only had one POV.)

100% recommended by me and now maybe I should read Fountains of Silence??? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

adverb17's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This book reminded me of the way I got sucked into Ally Carter books in middle school, with a delicious extra Les Mis flavor to it. I'm upset I didn't know this history before; I'm so glad Sepetys is sharing it in such an accessible and engaging way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, and Medical content

Minor: Confinement, Excrement, and Sexual harassment

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, and Excrement

Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism

hazel_t23's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Violence

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gore, Terminal illness, Excrement, and Vomit

Tread carefully with this book, as with most of the content of Ruta’s book. Deffo be in the right headspace to read it though, because it needs to be read.

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This is a fascinating story of Romania in the late 1980s under the dictatorship of Ceausescu.  Under Ceausescu's system, many people became informers.  It was a country where no one could be trusted, including your friends and family.  We've heard about the orphanages, but this young adult story tells more about what happened to the rest of the people living there.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail