Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

O mare de lacrimi by Ruta Sepetys

8 reviews

nasab's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I bought this book because of a sale. I didn’t know much about it, but I liked the theme and the book cover, so I bought it.
I didn’t think I would love it this much! It reminded me of why I love historical fiction! The characters aren’t real, but the experience is! This is a story I’ll be thinking about for a long time. I’m just surprised that I’ve never heard of the Wilhelm Gustloff, despite it being the deadliest disaster in maritime history. I’m glad Ruta Sepetys is contributing to its recognition.
War is ugly. Some use it as an excuse for their horrible actions, but most people just want to live peacefully with their families and loved ones and don’t care about politics. It saddens me that innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire. Unfortunately, war isn’t something in the past; it’s still affecting many innocent people in Gaza right this moment. الله يرفع عنهم وينصرهم.
I can’t bring myself to talk about the plot and characters because I’m still processing it, and it’s making me so sad.
Joana the nurse. Florian the artist. Emilia the selfless. Heinz the shoe poet. Ingrid the blind. Klaus the wandering boy. Halinka the baby. Eva the sorry giant. And last and definitely least, Alfred the idiot.

It's silly, but I hoped the shoe poet would emerge from somewhere and be alive. Emilia as well was just too young, but I realize that many died who were much younger than her, and my heart breaks even more. Joana and Florian's romance was sweet, I'm glad they survived and raised the kids. Alfred is a lunatic and a bit exaggerated but represents those who obey such ruthless rulers and believe in them.

I'm feeling so many emotions right now that I can't put into words. It's a sign of a 5-star read.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Racism, Abandonment, Rape, War, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Blood, and Pregnancy

fluture's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

A heart wrenching book taken from a true tragedy during World War II. I admire how Ruta can depict the situation and horror during the war with her words. Most parts gave me the shivers and goosebumps. It's a really good book to be read for those who like history fiction.

The point of view were taken from four different people with different characteristics yet it wouldn't confuse you to read it. Every chapter flows just like a river and very enjoyable to read. A page-turner book, beautiful yet tragic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, War, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Antisemitism, Child death, Gun violence, and Grief

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Stalking

allisonbraun's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, War, Medical content, Genocide, Body horror, Pregnancy, and Death

Moderate: Vomit

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and Antisemitism

hollycluff's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

Top three (see also: The Penderwicks and Man's Search for Meaning). This is the one and only book I have loved enough to read through once, then immediately read again in one sitting. For me, it was the perfect blend of suspense, tragedy, hope, and romance. It explored a historic tragedy I can't believe I'd never heard of, from four different perspectives. It's one of the rare books where I found myself equally invested in each POV---almost. I didn't enjoy Alfred's chapters as much as the others the first time I read it through, but learning the truth about his past and character made him SUCH an interesting character to read about the second time. I loved the relationships that developed between Johanna, Florian, and Emilia. They gave me happy butterflies more than once.

The prose was beautiful and vivid without distracting from the story, which was a huge win for me. It did become quite graphic in some scenes, which totally made sense given the content matter, but reader beware. 

It was fascinating to me that this was based on a massive real-life tragedy that I had never heard of, and the story explored WWII from perspectives I hadn't seen before. 

I appreciate a good, emotional ending that still provides closure, and this story absolutely delivered. Props to the author for ending this story with the perfect balance of sadness, hope and justice, and a very cleverly written epilogue. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Gore, and Body horror

amberinbookland's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Racism, Violence, Grief, Deportation, Death of parent, Death, Ableism, Medical content, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, War, Physical abuse, Child death, Pregnancy, Murder, Child abuse, Body horror, Antisemitism, Animal cruelty, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

kylajaynebooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Racism, Death of parent, Hate crime, Genocide, Gore, Body horror, Child death, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Terminal illness, Vomit, and War

ingrid21's review against another edition

emotional informative sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, War, and Antisemitism

hungeberg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

Never has "Challenging" rung more true to me  - but in a diffrent sense than usual. There is a big chunk towards the end where i frequently had to take breaks because the describtions of what the characters exeprience is so horrific. 
However i did really enjoy this book even though it was darker than anything i had read in a while. I especially enjoyed the character of Frigg since  he reminded me of people i've met in real life - even though he is absloutly horrible. He was laugable throughout the book to a point where i laughed out loud because of his self interest and stupid observations. 

Anyway i don't get why this belongs in young adult it is pretty horrific to read and I wouldn't let anyone under 18 read it because of some of the graphic describtions. That said the book is very necessary especially because this is properly pretty close to the horrific acts of violence commited throughout the war. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Xenophobia, War, Vomit, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Genocide, Death, and Child death