Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

5 reviews

headachesince03's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Racial slurs, Violence, Child abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Bullying, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Addiction, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Colonisation, Infertility, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry

greatexpectations77's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This one didn't upend my brain, but I liked it. I think it's an interesting look at survival during basically wartime. Everyone has to keep moving, but it also feels impossible to do so. I didn't love Cushla, but I don't think I had to, and maybe it created a nice separation to be able to look at the whole story. I DID love the precious little boy at school. And I do tend to like a little forbidden romance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Death, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Bullying, and Violence

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, and Stalking

rad_reads_123's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity, Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Bullying, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Infertility, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Gun violence, and Pregnancy

alisonannk's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, Death, Grief, War, Alcohol, Classism, Sexism, Hate crime, and Murder

Moderate: Pregnancy, Infertility, Miscarriage, Classism, Colonisation, and Bullying

ramreadsagain's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

4.0

 “Booby trap. Incendiary device. Gelignite. Nitroglycerine. Petrol bomb. Rubber bullets. Saracen. Internment. The Special Powers Act. Vanguard. The vocabulary of a 7-year-old child now.” 

Cushla, a young Catholic school teacher, lives in a 'mixed' (but largely Protestant) town near Belfast, in the 70's amid The Troubles. She becomes a bit too involved in the life of Davy, a boy in the class she teaches, from a poor Catholic family living in a Protestant estate. She becomes much too involved with Michael, an older, highly educated, married Protestant barrister. While these actions might only have personal consequences in other times and places, they put her in a very precarious position within her divided community. 

I am ashamed to admit that most of my knowledge of this part of Northern Ireland's history comes from Derry Girls, so I feel like I've learnt a lot here. 

This is one of those books you come out of in a bit of a daze. It's a proper slowburn, then the final quarter just throws everything at you. The author has done an amazing job at immersing the reader into the time period, with descriptions of clothing, food, and overall mood creating an atmospheric 70's working class time capsule. 

It's very well-written and pulls no punches. I did find the plot itself a bit... predictable? Essentially, it's exactly what I would expect from a literary book of this kind. Ticks boxes, I suppose. I was also not entirely convinced by the romance. 

However, I know I'll remember this book for a long time, and I'm very happy to have read it. Absolutely a recommendation from me!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Classism, Violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage