Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

We Are the Light by Matthew Quick

15 reviews

kelly_e's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Title: We Are the Light
Author: Matthew Quick
Genre: Magical Realism
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: November 1, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Powerful • Challenging • Haunting

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Lucas Goodgame lives in Majestic, Pennsylvania, a quaint suburb that has been torn apart by a recent tragedy. Everyone in Majestic sees Lucas as a hero—everyone, that is, except Lucas himself. Insisting that his deceased wife, Darcy, visits him every night in the form of an angel, Lucas spends his time writing letters to his former Jungian analyst, Karl. It is only when Eli, an eighteen-year-old young man whom the community has ostracized, begins camping out in Lucas’s backyard that an unlikely alliance takes shape and the two embark on a journey to heal their neighbors and, most importantly, themselves.

💭 T H O U G H T S

The premise, including themes of grief and the magical realism aspects, were what drew me to pick up We Are the Light. I also never realized it was written by the same author as The Silver Linings Playbook until I was finished.

Told through a series of letters from the main character to his therapist, Matthew Quick employs a clever writing style to explore grief, mental health, tragedy and the trauma that follows, community and hope. The letters are at times endearing, other times comical, and often sad. Lucas' character is easy to connect and relate to - some of his inner thoughts and dialogue were all too real, especially the idea of survivour's guilt.

What I appreciated most is the open dialogue on therapy and struggle in the face of the unthinkable. The narrative took me on an emotional roller coaster. While there was room for more depth and the epistolary style could be confusing to come readers, it is the ending alone that made this a 4-star read. It is an ending for the age, the type that makes you believe in humanity and tears were shed.

We Are the Light certainly treads into heavy content, but more specifically the aftermath of an unthinkable tragedy and coming out the other side as best you can. It does a fantastic job presenting human fragility, yet I was left feeling hopeful when I turned the final page. I will definitely be reading more from Matthew Quick.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• unlikely friendships
• mental illness representation
• epistolary novels

⚠️ CW: death, partner death, gun violence, murder, mass/school shooting, suicide, suicidal thoughts, grief, mental illness, depression, panic attacks/disorders, self harm, child abuse

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"And there is perhaps no greater pain than the suffering that comes from speaking plainly but failing to make any sort of meaningful connection with the people who care about you." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Grief, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

partner death, depression

olheckerd's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide

czoltak's review

dark emotional 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

“Whenever Darce and I would hear about a tragedy on the news or in conversations with others—back when she was still alive—she would grab my hand and say, "Don't die before me, Lucas, because I don't want to live without you, okay?" It was meant to be half-joke and half-declaration-of-undying-love. So I've been asking her winged grave marker why we never discussed what would happen if she died first.”

💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

Matthew Quick is a master of taking heartbreaking topics and dark emotions and transcending them into beautiful stories. Every Exquisite Thing is one of my all time favorite novels so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that this would take up a special place in my heart as well. The way Quick is able to interweave themes of Trauma, Grief, PTSD, and Coping with an overall story of community and comfort was incredibly moving. This is definitely a difficult read but the lyrical prose and heartwarming conclusion are well worth the heart shattering storylines. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Suicide, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

cmklaft's review

dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

mjoiner11's review

dark emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Suicide

laheath's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

4.0

Emotional story of a town, one man in particular, trying to heal after a tragic event. Told through his letters to his Jungian analyst, the grief and devastation are palpable, but the story is ultimately hopeful in its telling of forgiveness and rebuilding.

Strong trigger warning for this book but worth it if you can get through the difficult material. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide

Minor: Sexual content

katiieecat's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

gondorgirl's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

girrllie's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

Beautiful and sad. If you’re sensitive, be careful. It gave me nightmares. But Jung would say, “Let’s take at look at them.“

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Grief, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Toxic relationship

shyleek's review

challenging emotional reflective tense 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

I have to admit that the writing style threw me for a loop and I didn't know how I was going to feel about it. The more I read though, the more I wanted to read. 

This book deals with some deep concepts including loss, grief, healing, and family trauma just to name a few. It will take you on an emotional roller coaster but it is worth the read. 

There are some big triggers including murder and gun violence. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Murder