Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

27 reviews

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

Okay, why the hell did I think this was a young adult book?? I swear that it was mis-shelved at my  library growing up because what was I doing reading this as a pre-teen??? I was just in love with this. It moved me and disgusted me and made me feel for these characters like entire whole people. Emotions are extremely complicated, as is grief. And there are so many beautiful lines in here. What a triumph of a novel about how survival is the most innate human urge. I wish I could speak in beautiful words like Ms. Sebold.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Rape, Abandonment, and Bullying

Minor: Animal death, Blood, Sexual content, and Stalking

pumpkinmasterug's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

3.75

Not the best novel I’ve read, but definitely not the worst. It presents grief through a range of perspectives and is definitely dark and uncomfortable at several points. I enjoyed majority of the book, however

the possession scene spoiled the tone of it all for me, especially since the argument for Susie sleeping with her crush instead of tracking down her killer is her reclaiming what was taken from her during her murder, but after she hopes her father dies to be in heaven with her TWICE she let’s her family suffer in grief when she could’ve caught her killer or unveiled the location of her body and helped them. Of course that would’ve been very cliche so I understand why Seabold avoided this, but it just made Susie come across very selfish and quite unlikeable.

It’s a bit corny in some places and I don’t think the writing style will suit everyone, and some of the characters are so flat and predictable they read more like AI trying to blend in than actual human beings, but I honestly didn’t mind that too much in this case. Overall though, it’s a good read with a hopeful message and I did enjoy it for the most part.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Kidnapping, Body horror, Gore, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Abandonment, and Cursing

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Mental illness, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Death of parent

aniston_pond's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Murder, Rape, Pedophilia, and Child death

Moderate: Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Blood

stargirlmolly's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Pedophilia, and Stalking

Moderate: Sexual content, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

chiara_dose's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal death, Infidelity, and Sexual content

mariavdl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, and Pedophilia

Minor: Abandonment, Infidelity, Alcoholism, and Animal death

tigerkind's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

people being human. loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Stalking, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Eating disorder, and Drug use

patydenisse's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

2.0

You think you’ll love the book, but then you keep reading and ask yourself why is this or that on the book, the it gets sooo bad. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Murder, Lesbophobia, Blood, Sexual content, Death, Addiction, Racism, Sexual violence, Rape, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Grief, Drug use, Child death, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Adult/minor relationship

It is not for kids, I would even say teens, there’s explicit sexual content

jennie78's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Murder

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Infidelity

leeshisreading's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

I wished to complain about how the ending doesn’t fulfil me.  But I can’t, because life isn’t fair- it isn’t perfect, and therefore I cannot sit here and complain for an unrealistic perspective. Susie Salmon is a cool, compassionate and genuinely kind character- her personality so intrinsically sewn into her narration that I struggle to come to terms with the fact that she is not real. And I believe Sebold had a similar experience in what must be the best, most heartfelt afterward I have ever read:

“Susie has turned out to be more powerful than I could ever be. I may have created Susie Salmon, but I hold no doubt that it is the act of letting her go that redeems me.”

Overall, it was beautiful- i didn’t like the relationship between Samuel and Lindsay to begin with, but I will blame that on the sisterly bond I felt with her- this underlying need to protect her, just like Susie. It only increases my love for the book more that it was able to make me feel such a way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, and Pedophilia