Scan barcode
brogancha'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
3.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, and Transphobia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
vireogirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Lots of birds mentioned.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Confinement
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Excrement, Hate crime, and Outing
smaravetz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Body shaming
afion's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Religious bigotry, and Transphobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Excrement, and Vomit
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, and Self harm
hmatt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Medical content, Vomit, Body shaming, Confinement, Homophobia, and Outing
Moderate: Blood and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Self harm
kelly_e's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Author: Emma Donoghue
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.0
Pub Date: August 23, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Patient • Timely • Riveting
📖 S Y N O P S I S
In seventh-century Ireland, three men vow to leave the world behind. They set out in a small boat for an island their leader has seen in a dream, with only faith to guide them. What they find is the extraordinary island now known as Skellig Michael. The steep, rocky terrain and bare island is unforgiving, and the three must band together in order to survive.
💠T H O U G H T S
Emma Donoghue is an auto-buy author for me, so it will be no surprise that Haven was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. If you'd have asked me if a book based in religion set in 600 AD would interest me, my first impulse would have been to say no. Yet, Donoghue has a way of taking the most uninteresting plot and making it shine.
The strength is in the evocative writing style and the vivid island atmosphere. This is a slow-moving narrative, where not a whole lot happens, yet I was captivated by the journey of these three characters. It is a story of faith and devotion, while also raising issues of gender, survival, and needs versus wants.
Haven was definitely not my favourite Emma Donoghue book, yet one of the reasons I love her writing is that each book is so different from the last. Don't let the synopsis keep you from picking up was is at its heart a story of isolation, spirituality and survival.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Emma Donoghue devotees
• readers who enjoy isolated stories of survival
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"To travel is to turn the pages of the great book of life."
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Body shaming
alylentz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Minor: Child death