Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

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

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Grief, War, Abandonment, Death, Pregnancy, Vomit, Blood, Child death, and Confinement

mdavis26's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child death, Rape, Violence, War, Antisemitism, Blood, Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Pregnancy

gymjam_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad medium-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? Yes

4.5

A stunning, emotional piece of fiction that follows four young characters during the war whose lives all intertwine onboard the Wilhelm Gustloff - the very real ship that has unfortunately been lost from history books. Extremely well written. If you enjoy war fiction, this should be a must read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: War and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abandonment, Antisemitism, Child death, and Rape

amgbac09's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-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? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, and War

Moderate: Rape

marsisred's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

Made me sob 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Gun violence, and Grief

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

shelbyhatley's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Rape, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Abandonment and Animal death