Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Magpie by Elizabeth Day

5 reviews

iamnita's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This book started so well and the idea was well-done. I could see that we were headed somewhere twisty and then I got surprised by a twist I should have but didn't see coming. By 70% I was so excited by the rest of the book but honestly wish I'd just stopped there. It's almost as if the author dropped the plot and then had a deadline to get to. Which was disappointing. I also could have done without the last chapter. But the vibes were immaculate to 70%.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Violence, Infertility, Stalking, and Confinement

tysuckz's review

dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Love love love the way this book is written. I do think that it could've been much shorter but also the way it's written is kind of what keeps you reading, if that makes sense? Like it isn't the plot but just the way the experience is? 

The fertility struggles weren't something I thought I would be reading when I picked up the book to be honest, and it was nice to read something I've never really touched based with before even if it was a little bit on the heavy side. 

Just wanted to stick in this part of the book, cause it was one of my favourite pieces of it: 
"___ found it extraordinary how much ownership strangers felt they had over her uterus. People she had only just met would imagine they knew her age, her sexual proclivities and her maternal urges. There was an assumption, implicit in the question, that all women should want to have children and that those who didn't were somehow lacking. It used to infuriate her. Now it just left her hollow." 

Anyways, I do fully think it is worth the read. The plot is a lot thicker than I feel like you initially imagine and you can't really get a sense of which way is up or down at the start. Not a clue what is going on . And then suddenly it all starts to make sense! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Rape

blunt87's review

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

Meh, it was ok. As someone who’s gone through IVF and is about to lose their fertility at a young age I can relate to Kate 
It felt like this book took me ages to read, and I’ve found it a bit of a slog to get to the end, I didn’t want to give up because I wanted to know how it ended and what I thought would happen didn’t which really was a bonus because my head went to a very different place 
Worth a read if you have the time, don’t think I’d recommend it to friends as it just didn’t give me the “psychological thriller” vibe I was expecting. It’s very PG 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Infertility, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Abandonment, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Stalking

diaratewi's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Infertility, and Pregnancy

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I thought the way

Marisa's mental health

was treated in the plot was problematic. She had

a psychotic break and was not given access to a psychiatrist and mental health services. She was packed away to the country and forced to live in Jake's parents' guest house. Feels like confinement to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Confinement, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Stalking

Moderate: Classism and Panic attacks/disorders