Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - Not Quite Dead Yet

Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson

23 reviews

mikathereviewer's review against another edition

3.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I was considering giving this book a 4 star rating 'cause overall it wasn't really bad, but then the end reveal came and my dread that it's the obvious suspect was confirmed, leaving me disappointed.

Despite the plot feeling sometimes like it's progressing a bit too slow, it was still a nice read about Margaret ‘Jet’ who was trying to solve her own murder. The protagonist of this story feels like she has to proof something, has to act and achieve the same things her sister Emily did. While I never done anything like this to impress anyone, not even my parents I could still somewhat understand that if one wasn't the favourite child and just searching for confirmation, wanting to make them proud. I think that Margaret can be a relatable character for some. Just like the author of this book said: ‘I still find myself feeling sad for Jet (and I made her up) so I’m sorry for inflicting that trauma on you too.’ Her life was truly tragic and I think everyone had at least some bit of tragedy in their life so I think it's quite easy to connect with her emotionally. Since I did that too, I was also able to enjoy the story to the fullest, truly rooting for her to achieve something big in life for the first time without self-sabotaging and actually finishing something she started without saying 'later'.

We've spend our whole lives trying to fill Emily's shoes, feeling crushed by her shadow, trying to prove to Mom and Dad that we are good enough too.

This book explored a lot of family dynamics, mostly Margaret's but also Billy's family. While it did take some time to get to know all the characters — their secrets and possible motives for killing Margaret, it also was about their relationships to eachother. How they liked or not liked eachother. And why. While I did mention above that I found the end reveal to be a bit too predictable, there were actually three major ones. Two were pretty obvious since they were connected to eachother and I think that the murderer was a prime suspect, but the family dynamic also had a secret which I did not expect as it was so cruel and heartless, I wouldn't have even imagined that someone would do something like this. It took me by surprise since I didn't expect it at all. I also wanted to mention that this book is quite tragic and just generally sad since it's about grief, loss and how relationships changed over the years by abandonment and hate. They all had their tragic story in some way.

I'm sorry that I'm not Emily. But I was never supposed to be. Took me a while to learn that, and I hope you can see it too. I spent my whole life waiting because I was trying to live a future that was never mine. And I did it because I wanted you to be proud of me. To just once say “Good Job, Jet.” I needed it, lived for it, and I don't think that was healthy, for either of us.

Despite the sad backstories and plot about a woman dying soon due to head trauma, it also had a sweet tone, like romance and showing strength when one faces a difficult time in life. Margaret had a major development at the end, acknowledging that the way she lived her life so far was wrong and made it up for the remaining days she had left to live.

As I mentioned above, the plot twist who the murderer was, was too predictable to me and made the ending disappointing. I expected something greater and I know that Holly Jackson is good in writing about a mystery/thriller, but this time it just wasn't as great as I initially hoped for it to be.

Since everything else wasn't really lacking anything I would still recommend this book to anyone who already read a Holly Jackson book in the past.
In case you haven't, don't worry, it's still worth reading despite the ending as I had fun exploring each character and their past.

My murder isn’t going to solve itself.

Content Warnings

elliegsimmers's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional 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

i cried, i laughed, i gasped, and i lived with jet and billy. holly jackson will never write anything less than phenomenal in my mind. i’ll be crying over this book for a long time.

Content Warnings

legendofthe3divas's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I have never cried so hard over an ending. Holly when I catch you-

Content Warnings

mignarly's review against another edition

4.0

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: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

pinkrain718's review against another edition

5.0

dark mysterious sad tense

Content Warnings

ash_nicole_wrld999's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

Content Warnings

maria_y's review against another edition

5.0

challenging mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Wow. Wow. Wow. WOW. This book was AMAZING. I loved every single second of this book. The first chapter was hard to get into but after that it NEVER STOPED, it was so hard for me to put the book down.

I never guessed what was coming next. When Billy’s dad was revealed to be the murderer my jaw was on the FLOOR. I would have never guessed.

This book was one of the best books I have read this year! 100% recommend.
5/5 stars

Content Warnings

cover2covertx's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional funny reflective 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

I wasn’t sure I was going to like this one when I first started. I thought it was a little dark for my tastes because why do I want to read a book, fall in love with the main character only to know she can’t possibly have a happy ending??

In spite of all of that, Holly Jackson somehow made this dark, heart-breaking story have some of the best dry humor and comedy along with the most tender thoughtful moments I’ve ever read in a thriller. I raced through this book in under 48 hours & I was constantly annotating funny and sweet moments…all while the FMC is slowly dying & trying to solve her murder? 😅

This was definitely a super unique story and it was full of all of the interesting twists and turns you know and love from Holly Jackson. However, my favorite part was Jet. She was such a vibrant character, so funny and at times mean & brash (but who wouldn’t be while coping w/ that fate) and following her and Billy while they go on this journey together & have these small moments of living were the best pieces to this well-crafted roller coaster ride of a murder mystery.

Content Warnings

gabr7ellereads's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Not Quite Dead Yet took my breath away... Literally, when I sobbed through the ending I knew was coming, and the ending I didn't. My partner woke up to me losing it first thing in the morning on my birthday in a panic.

Him: "What's wrong?!"

Me: "My book... it's (snot) soOo (hiccup) good."

Him: *Laughs in relief*

I've been insufferable since this book was announced, and even more so when I found out I was lucky enough to get to read it early. And let me tell you... it did NOT disappoint.

Jet has seven days to live, and she chooses to spend them solving her own murder. Once she starts digging up decaying secrets and razing her relationships, everything she thought she knew about her life is flipped on its head. There are twists that will keep you guessing at every turn and the pacing is (MUAH 🤌🏻) perfect.

Despite what might seem like heavy subject matter— what with the imminent death of a loved one and Jet's loss of ability to control her deteriorating body— this book was quick-witted and hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing at the dark humor Jet used to make light of her horrifying situtation, and that made the book all the more poignant and emotional. On top of that, it was tragically romantic. The dynamic between the main two characters is to die for (...no pun intended). The headstrong, ambitious, and brave girl who would do anything it takes to solve her case paired with the doe-eyed guy who's been in love with her since they were kids and who'd follow her to the ends of the earth... yeah. I can't say any more or I'll start crying again.

Not Quite Dead Yet is Holly Jackson at her best. It's a phenomenal thriller I'll be thinking about fondly for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Content Warnings

earth_to_cece's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional funny mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam for facilitating early access to this book. This was my first time reading Holly Jackson’s work, and now I understand the hype! This book was very difficult to put down and exactly what I needed to pull myself out of a recent reading slump. I appreciated the fresh twist on a classic “Who Dunnit”-style mystery.

This is Jackson’s first novel for adults, but the main character’s personality and the sweet innocence of the romance subplot made this lean a bit YA for me. That said, these details (mostly) made sense within the context of the story, and I enjoyed Jet as a strong female lead.

I am not a seasoned mystery-solver, and I was able to figure out the murder culprit around the 90% mark. This didn’t take away from the rest of the story, though. Right after finishing the book, I was upset about a couple parts of the ending, but after digesting for a bit, I actually came to appreciate how Jackson’s choices upped my emotional investment. I would wholeheartedly recommend Not Quite Dead Yet to fellow mystery enthusiasts!

Content Warnings

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