Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

63 reviews

traciereads's review

emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Child death

Minor: Alcohol

frey's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely devastating read, in the best way possible. Not the genre i usually read but by the quarter-way point i was unable to put it down for long. Even as a non-American it was such a beautiful read with beautifully believable characters. The way of telling the story was so well done and my heart hurt so much for Hannah the longer I read.

Not to mention, finding out at the very end that Lydia didn't actually mean to kill herself broke my heart. The last chapter of the book was so beautifully sorrowful that it nearly broke me. The line from Nath's point of view at the very end of the book: "When, a long, long time later, he stares down at the silent blue marble of the earth and thinks of his sister, as he will at every important moment in his life." I still think about this line weeks later. Nothing encapsulates grief better I think in the book than this line. I will never get over it: "I will always think of you in the most important moments of my life" is grief in its most beautiful form.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Racism, Sexism, Infidelity, Grief, and Child death

Moderate: Racial slurs and Pregnancy

Minor: Body horror, Sexual content, and Alcohol

sloan_emmi92's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

3.75

Wow. This book was one of the most heartbreaking stories I’ve ever read. The way everything was portrayed made me feel like I understood perfectly, and the issues discussed and represented were put into perspective. I loved this story, and it’s so so sad but makes you reflect on life. This is so lighthearted read- that’s for sure. It would’ve been a 4 star, but just wasn’t QUITE there but such a great story. (I come back to the review and change someday- I haven’t decided yet:))

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, and Child death

Moderate: Racism, Suicide, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Medical content, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism

duntothewood's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Abandonment, Racism, Grief, Racial slurs, and Physical abuse

Minor: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Outing, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

jenniferbbookdragon's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Celeste Ng does an amazing job writing about trauma,  racism,  misogyny,  and dysfunctional families.  This gut-wrenching story of a teen girl's disappearance and death moves back and forth between before and after the tragedy and demonstrates how experiences from childhood can create generations of pain. The main story takes place in 1977 Ohio, but reaches back to China, California,  Virginia,  and Boston. 
I found it a painful reading experience, especially the scenes with parents lashing out at their children, and the amount of secrets every single family member is carrying will break your heart. I am glad I read it for a book club because I need to discuss and process it with others.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Grief, Racism, Xenophobia, Bullying, Child death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Physical abuse and Alcohol

heeniee's review

emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

a character study of grief and loss and how you can’t really know a person but that doesn’t mean they didn’t impact your life or that you didn’t love them.

loved hannah, nath, and jack so much. unconditionally my baby loves.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Minor: Alcohol

bergha1998's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

This is a heavy book. The writing is exquisite, I love all the characters and their development throughout the book. If you come from a dysfunctional family, though, this one might hit you where it hurts. Especially for me the relationship between Nath and Lydia. 

Thriller/Mystery, Dysfunctional Family, Trauma

“Dreaming of his future, he no longer heard all the things she did not say.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Infidelity, Suicide, Alcohol, Body horror, Death, Cursing, and Racism

vannahcabana's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I did not know what to expect from this book, but overall it was a good read. It’s darker in nature than I normally go for. It’s more mystery based, but it keeps your attention. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity

Moderate: Alcohol

sammyb's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Death

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicide

Minor: Homophobia and Sexism

deebee223's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Grief, Death, Abandonment, and Infidelity

Moderate: Bullying, Sexism, Physical abuse, and Homophobia

Minor: Suicide and Alcohol