Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Darling Girl by Liz Michalski

31 reviews

adventuresinfictionland's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I’ve not read a Peter Pan retelling in the past, nor have I read a Liz Michalski. I want more of both in the future! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Death, Drug use, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking

elwan_enchanted's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Child death, Medical trauma, Medical content, Abandonment, Blood, Murder, Addiction, Car accident, Chronic illness, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, and Rape

martamae77's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Child death

Moderate: Medical content and Car accident

ashleereadsbooks692's review

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Terminal illness, Drug abuse, Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

alexafuson's review against another edition

dark mysterious

• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

There were a lot of flaws in this novel, but I still really really enjoyed this story. A common complaint seems to be Holly’s lack of involvement in the ending, but I think this made the ending better. Rather than Holly getting revenge on those who had wronged her, she was able to find peace with herself. As someone who has recently lost a loved one, I related to the grief Holly felt in this book. The main character was morally grey at best, but her motives for her behavior were pure. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Car accident, Medical content, Sexual violence, and Grief

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

anna_reads_and_rambles12's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Blood, Car accident, and Medical content

theonlybaillie's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Child death, Drug abuse, Rape, Addiction, Death, Medical content, Sexual violence, Grief, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness

eed8's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Drug use, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, and Medical content

readwithria's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

Darling Girl wasn’t for me, but it very well could have been for someone else. 

I have some issues with this book, and I think they can be summed up in 3ish points
1. The first two thirds of this book were SO SLOW. It felt like nothing happened, which leads me to…
2. The action of the book happens TO the protagonist instead of BECAUSE of the protagonist. That is one thing I absolutely do not like, but that’s not to say someone else wouldn’t like it. I think the book would have been more interesting if it had been from multiple POVs, perhaps Holly, Jane, and Eden? I’m not sure how that would have worked, but I think I would have preferred it.
3. This book doesn’t feel all that much like a fantasy until the last ~60ish pages. It’s so low fantasy, and that’s not at all what I was expecting given the dust jacket blurb and the marketing. I wanted more of the magic, MORE of Neverland and it’s denizens, but alas that’s not what I got. 

The last third of the book did pick up a bit, and the themes of the book were explored quite well, but the blurb and the themes didn’t seem to match. This book is about grief and what a mother will do for her children, not about Peter Pan.

Peter Pan is a childhood favorite of mine, and this didn’t scratch the itch. 2.75 stars

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Medical content, Drug abuse, Car accident, Blood, and Drug use

Moderate: Medical trauma, Grief, Death, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Deadnaming

em_n_ay's review

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

2.0

Don’t waste your time. It’s just another Peter Pan story that tried to be different by making itself really dark and “gritty”. Kept reading because I thought the ending would have a payoff. It didn’t. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Kidnapping, and Death