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stephmcoakley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Stalking, Death, Pregnancy, Cancer, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Car accident, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Gun violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment
sorcha's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Car accident
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Miscarriage
Minor: Domestic abuse, Dementia, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Cancer, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Murder
sheryl's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Miscarriage, Murder, Addiction, and Gun violence
meghan8715's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Minor: Cancer and Miscarriage
chris_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Miscarriage, Infidelity, and Abandonment
Moderate: Car accident, Sexual assault, Dementia, Mental illness, Ableism, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood, Cancer, and Murder
bringmybooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
B̷R̷I̷N̷G̷ ✨ 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 ✨ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷
I wasn't really sure what to expect going into this; I had gotten We Are The Brennans from BOTM (Book of the Month) a while ago, and honestly other than the family having connections to (and/or living in) Ireland, I didn't remember much about the synopsis.
It's a book about family. The family you're born into, the family you choose, and the family you sometimes have to leave. It was a somewhat weird read, because while I didn't feel myself overly emotionally attached to any of the characters of the plotlines, I couldn't put the book down?
My favorite part of the book was the multiple POV narration, and especially the way the narrators switched off. Whichever character spoke last at the end of a chapter, their quote would be repeated at the beginning of the next chapter and the POV would switch to them. It had this really neat effect of having you follow the story throughout the book in a seamless and (almost interactive?) way that I really liked.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go start planning yet another fantasy trip to Ireland because I have wanted to go since I was maybe 6 years old? And that was 30 years ago? Sigh.
Graphic: Alcohol, Miscarriage, Car accident, and Gun violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexism, Infidelity, Dementia, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Cancer, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Rape
Minor: Pregnancy
caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Blood, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, and Dementia
The Brennans are not a close-knit family. They are a toxic family in which the patriarchy is alive and well, women are either whores or madonnas, and victim shaming is practiced on a regular basis. The characters are nothing but clichés and stereotypes and are totally devoid of nuance. The whole thing reads like a daytime soap - superficial, predictable and fast moving. Ironically, sometimes these awful books make for interesting book club discussions.shel_bay11's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Car accident, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Dementia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, and Cancer
mbedrosian's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, Cancer, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Abandonment, Violence, and Gun violence
amspen's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Ableism, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Car accident, Gun violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Cancer