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kaitlinmarks's review
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Racism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Death, Cultural appropriation, Animal death, and Drug use
laheath's review against another edition
4.0
Prince Harry shares his seemingly thorough and honest memoir including stories from growing up as a Royal, memories of his mother, school days, relationships with family members, his military career, dating, scandals in the press, charity work, meeting & marrying Meghan, beginning a family, and their ultimate decision to split from the Royal Family. He reads it with an audible degree of emotion, even discussing his battle with panic attacks and PTSD before finding a therapist. This may be just 1 side of the story of everything that has transpired within the Royal Family over the past several years, but this comes from someone far down the line of succession to the throne, which I feel makes him less likely to hide anything.
Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Grief
Moderate: War, Classism, Racism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Cursing, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Suicidal thoughts
braggsy's review
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, War, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Death, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Cursing, Racism, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, and Mental illness
Minor: Car accident, Classism, Animal death, Blood, and Bullying
readergonewilde's review
4.0
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Alcohol, War, Stalking, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Racism, Racial slurs, Drug use, Death of parent, Bullying, and Death
bookcheshirecat's review
3.0
➽ I don't follow the royal family at all, but I was intrigued by Prince Harry's memoir! It was interesting to learn more about his childhood, the grief over losing his mother and the role the media has played his entire life. These parts appealed the most to me, as the vicious nature of the paparazzi and the twisting of the truth by the media sound horrifying. I can't imagine being treated like an object for media attention instead of a person. Harry talks a lot about the practices of the magazines that have also turned against him and his wife, viciously ripping them apart for not fitting into the mould.
➽ In the end, the memoir wasn't anything too impactful. The writing was basic and though I appreciated that Harry narrated his own memoir, his narration style was pretty flat. I also wasn't a big fan of the big focus on Harry's military service. In general, I'm not interested in military propaganda, so seeing Harry talk about his pride about killing others didn't feel right - especially with the Islamophobic undertones!
Graphic: Grief, Racism, War, Death, Sexism, Stalking, and Violence
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Gore, Islamophobia, and Torture
onmalsshelf's review
5.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
elspeth_h's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and War
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Car accident, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Bullying, Racism, Miscarriage, Classism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, and Alcohol
mandaraffe's review against another edition
Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Grief, Racism, Medical content, Sexism, Death of parent, War, Drug use, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Death, Stalking, Gun violence, and Misogyny
Moderate: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation
caitiedundas's review
3.0
Mostly I just found it very sad. I think the book has been sensationalised by the leaked quotes and early sound bites, mostly about Harry’s penis, but the actual content is desperately sad. He comes across as a deeply traumatised, anxious man who is clearly haunted by a childhood and adolescence which sounds pretty grim despite the immense wealth and privilege. It’s very difficult not to empathise with him for his difficult experiences. I particularly enjoyed the first portion of the book, covering his childhood and early adolescence. It was interesting to get a look into this period and I felt he came across the most sincere in these parts. Not that his sincerity was something I really doubted later on in the book, but it was most pronounced early.
That being said, where I struggled to empathise was when it seemed like assertions were being made to try and ensure Harry came across as ‘a normal guy’. This is the worst in the second half of the book with passages dedicated to his supermarket routines, TK Max visits, etcetera. It seemed as though he was determined to come across as any old pleb, when it’s clear this simply isn’t the case, and this is something he does acknowledge in other areas of the book. In a passage near the end he recounts never having ordered an Amazon parcel, or held a house key, so he is clearly well aware of his unconventionally sheltered and elevated lifestyle, making the repeated attempts to situate himself as an ‘ordinary’ person all the more puzzling. Add to that the copious mentions of exclusive members club Soho House, plenty of occasions of friends with spare mansions, lots of monetary talk. The guy is clearly wealthy and privileged, and the book would be better for it if his honesty there was more consistent.
The writing was decent. Nothing I felt particularly blown away by but it was an enjoyable, fast paced read. The atmospheric descriptions, in particular, I thought were strong, and the themes which strung throughout the memoir and motifs which popped up repeatedly were used effectively (the flag, the biro, etc).
Not really a critique of the book as it is indeed reality but it was sad that the book ended on a rather negative note, with evidently little contact between Harry and his Royal family. It feels like quite an open ending, something I suspect is purposeful for another book.
Overall - a decent read! Despite being long it remained pretty fast paced and only took me a few days to read, with a fairly moderate amount of time dedicated to reading each day. Wouldn’t have spent the full price or indeed the current standard half price on it, but the nice it ends up in the charity shops it is absolutely worth a wee read!
Graphic: Misogyny, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, War, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Death, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and Violence
Moderate: Antisemitism, Stalking, Drug abuse, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Racial slurs
Minor: Infertility, Drug use, Medical content, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Bullying, Sexual content, and Miscarriage
gracewiley's review
3.5
Graphic: Drug abuse, Death of parent, Stalking, War, Animal death, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Racial slurs
Minor: Colonisation, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Addiction, Classism, Pregnancy, and Torture