Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin

8 reviews

deviouslyliza's review

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

hannah2896's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

This audiobook was positively suprising. The writing was engaging throughout with some dark themes portrayed by both Sigrid and Margit's characters. I was a bit confused during the first chapters as it was quite repetitive and I couldn't understand what the point of the letters were. The ending of the book tied all the lose ends together. Eventhough the protagonist's were pretty negative, the second half of the book had a positive twist, and I related to a lot of their thoughts and feelings. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

cas_reads_anything's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

littlemissdnf's review against another edition

5.0

We Could Be Rats was a rollercoaster of emotions. Emily Austin has written a beautiful story about sisterhood, friendship, and the desperation of making your way through a world that is often too hard. 

I will admit that I was not 100% sold for the first section of this book. That isn't to say that I didn't like it, because I was enjoying myself, but I had just finished The Wedding People, another spectacular story with themes of self-harm. I found myself comparing the two despite the myriad differences between them. To no fault of the story, I found it distracting. Then everything changed. 

Austin's brilliant use of narrative structure in the second half took my breath away. It caused such an emotional shift in my reading experience that I was stunned by the tears flowing from my eyes. This book gave me so much hope. Excuse me while I read Austin's entire backlist. 

Candace Thaxton's narration was fantastic. I highly recommend the audio. 

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm

carlytortora's review

dark funny medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Lesbophobia

devynreadsnovels's review

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

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Abortion, and Abandonment

emmanotfrost's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad

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

4.5

This book has drained me emotionally.

Books about sisters and family relationships always have a special place for me personally, but this was nothing like I expected.

Before I start, I think it is important to note that there are mentions of topics that might trigger a certain group of people, such as suicide, sexual abuse, and homophobia. It heavily revolves around a suicide attempt so please be aware if you are considering reading this book.

For what seems to be a short book, it takes me on such a dizzying emotional rollercoaster.

I'm not sure how to review this book without spoiling the story, so I would just say that I love every bit of it. I was immersed in Sigrid's notes; looking at the world from her point of view felt complicated and difficult but also colourful and interesting. I was also consumed by the love and grief that Margit felt from her chapters, feeling useless and clueless after such a tragedy.

The only thing I wish had been longer was the ending where the sisters found their way to each other. However, I also like to think that the very short ending was written that way so I could make up my own understanding of their relationship.

If you're interested in exploring the messy, complicated, heartwarming, and beautiful journeys of family members finding their way back to each other, this book is a wonderful choice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

cadence99's review against another edition

5.0

I would be amiss if I didn’t begin the review by mentioning how much I feel that this books description doesn’t do it justice. I think it’s important to note that this book grapples with suicide and suicidal ideation in a very visceral (though not graphic) way, which is not noted at all in the official description, so I encourage readers to check CW (StoryGraph has been my go to) before approaching this book. But having said that, I am aware that this is more a critique of the publisher than of the author, who did include what I felt to be a very appropriate authors note on the topic before the beginning of the book. 

 On to the actual book: WOW. I’m entirely disappointed with myself that this is my first read from Emily Austin because that absolutely blew me away. Austin has such a beautiful way of making you feel seen, and encapsulating feelings that often seem so nebulous. I saw myself in some ways in both Sigrid and Margit, and appreciated the exploration of how their diverging personalities and choices often stemmed from very similar desires. I truly can’t wait to read Emily Austin’s other novels, as she clearly has such an immense talent for capturing the human condition. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and Outing

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Transphobia

Minor: Ableism, Self harm, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and Classism