Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Bjørneby by Fredrik Backman

427 reviews

yochananvered's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense 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

My one and only gripe with this book is that it was hard to follow. There were so many characters it sometimes was hard to keep track. However, that may be due more to my lack of reading comprehension than to the actual writing. The story had me so invested. At certain points I even found it hard to breathe because it felt like I was right there experiencing these events alongside the characters. And there were so many great lines; I some that made me laugh, some that made me think, and some that left me feeling a little bit haunted. The next logical thing is to read the sequel, but part of me wants to reread this immediately to notice things I missed and appreciate all the details a little bit more. One day I will definitely reread this, but for now I’m just excited to see what happens next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Bullying, Violence, Gun violence, and Blood

Moderate: Classism, Bullying, Child death, Misogyny, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Homophobia

Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, Vomit, and Child abuse

c_alexander's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Abandonment, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Grief

Moderate: Suicide, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Child death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Racism, and Self harm

sallamaariv's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

This book is great, but wayyy too long. I nearly gave up at 40% because the plot wasn't progressing. Hours and hours of character introductions and world building got exhausting and repetitive, and there were too many characters. The plot itself was captivating!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Rape, Violence, Bullying, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Grief

eleasofia's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

i loved this book so much. it's beautifully written. every other sentence was one i wanted to highlight. the writing isn't overly complicated but it's also not simple. it's precise and beautiful and contains lots of amazing quotes about life in general.

the story totally gripped me from the first page. it's carefully crafted, every little detail is told for a reason that will be revealed as the story goes on. the story is complex and often hints at things, but in such an ambiguous way that it's hard to predict what's going to happen. the ending is satisfying and has a bit of a full-circle moment, so the book can absolutely be read standalone even though it's part of a trilogy.

i loved the way all of the characters are introduced and described. they all have unique stories and personalities. everyone's good and bad sides and actions and thoughts are shown, so it's hard to completely hate or love anyone. which i assume is the whole point and i loved it. my opinion of a lot of the characters changed throughout the book as they faced challenges and had to make decisions. 

and no, you absolutely don't need to know anything about ice hockey. you can love this story even if you don't care about sports at all. it's more about community and morality and personal relationships than it's about sports.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Rape, and Violence

Minor: Suicide

ljo_15's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

I really enjoyed this one and plan on continuing the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, Rape, and Violence

kathrynshields's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I had a hard time getting into this one, but it ended up blowing me away. The first several chapter were full of slow exposition and characters that were hard to keep straight. Then the story quickly picked up and it was brilliant and devastating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death of parent and Suicide

Minor: Abandonment and Alcoholism

um_erca's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia

roe_bookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Violence, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Rape, and Racism

liannreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Rape

Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts

treat_yo_shelf's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Beartown destroyed me and put me back together. I fell in love with almost all of the characters, a few will stick with  me forever. When I finished this book I physically vibrated  at the grief of having finished and the last message of hope. 

This is a book I will forever wish I could read for the first time again.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Rape, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Bullying