Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Winners by Fredrik Backman

5 reviews

emalillah's review against another edition

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

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Death of parent, Blood, Grief, Cancer, Gun violence, Violence, Terminal illness, Outing, Drug abuse, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Racism, Mass/school shootings, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Murder, Mental illness, Suicide, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Car accident, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Drug use, Child death, and Bullying

thehmkane's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

Dammit Backman, you've done it again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Addiction, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Drug use, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Suicide, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Abandonment, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Ableism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Miscarriage

charlotte123's review against another edition

5.0

Ich habe Backman zwischendurch echt gehasst, aber am Ende war es perfekt. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Rape, Grief, Violence, Gun violence, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Vomit, War, Outing, Car accident, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Racism

satashii's review

emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Oh how to review this book?  I haven’t cried this hard reading a book in a very long time and when it came to the end I felt almost shell shocked by the end events even though we all knew who was going to die in the end.  I am heartbroken by this book yet it is so very good and I’ve been recommending it to all my friends until they’re sick of hearing about it.  I’ve even got my mom to start listening to the first Beartown book as an audiobook…

So why not 5 stars?  Well…. Editing.  I hate to say it but I felt that Fredrick Backman’s editor just let him go on a bit too much after the success of the other two books.  I have not read anything of Backman’s other than the Beartown trilogy but they (this trilogy) have a tendency to meander a little bit before getting to the inflection point, lingering there and then spreading out to cover all facets of the fallout. 

Which, given that this is the third book to be structured this way, I should have been anticipating this indulgence in getting everyone’s viewpoint and what they were doing at all times.  However, this is a much longer book than the other two and at times, while I was being patient, it felt like the author was overindulging a little bit too much.  There’s the addition of several new characters: Mumble, Tess and her parents, Matteo, and I’m sure I’m forgetting others and minimize some from the previous book.  The cast of characters felt like it got a bit too unwieldy at times and perhaps there was a role for an editor to step in to make it a bit more progressive instead of slowing the pace to glacial. 

That said, this book is an emotional journey. It will surprise you, sadden you, and give you relief and joy.  But yeah…. 

Things I loved:  the depth, the characters,

Benji—oh my beautiful bright boy gone too soon.  His interactions with Alicia just broke my heart and her getting to wear his number and using his last name had me just sobbing.  I had issues with Peter’s life decisions in the middle book but I felt that his finding joy again in hockey was *chef’s kiss* perfect way to end his arc.  The inclusion of Aleksander finding his home in the forest was also very rewarding as a character arc mirroring Maya’s journey away from Beartown.

Things I didn’t love as much: I really enjoyed Teemu’s viewpoint from the second book and we didn’t get as much of him this time around. 

I did not enjoy Matteo’s POV sections even though I did feel sorry for him.  I felt terrible for Mumble and wanted to give him the biggest hug and his death also saddened me greatly.  Ana… disappointed me so much in the middle book that I still haven’t quite forgiven her for her actions and what it did to Benji.  Give me a few years and i might be less angry with her and be able to think objectively about her but… I think I still need more time to forgive her even if Benji had before the end.  Kira’s arc felt to me like it ended slightly abruptly for all that we spent a lot of time and pages with other characters getting a better resolution.

Bottom line: read it once to break your heart, read it a second time to revisit old friends and spend some time with them. 

I’ll be buying myself an Ovich 16 hoodie to wear.  Go Bears!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Death, Drug use, and Violence

Minor: Suicide, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

hudyrosenberg's review

dark emotional tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicide, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Child death, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Animal death, Alcoholism, Self harm, Mental illness, Bullying, Death, Violence, Murder, Homophobia, Rape, Vomit, Sexual assault, and Grief