Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

2155 reviews

mellii's review against another edition

challenging sad

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

2.0

What a shitshow. Hated every second of it, still bawled my eyes out at the end. Don't read this if you want to keep your sanity. Missing trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Car accident, Self harm, Blood, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Grief, Death, and Child abuse

sgrizzle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

“No,” Willem said, after they’d all stopped laughing. “I know my life’s meaningful because”—and here he stopped, and looked shy, and was silent for a moment before he continued—“ because I’m a good friend. I love my friends, and I care about them, and I think I make them happy.”

Well I am sitting in my car crying just having finished this book lol. 2024 is the year I read the sad books, and this was definitely sad. I generally love a deep, contemplative dive into characters, so that part I did enjoy, but this one was truly bleak. It is an excellent look into how violent trauma in childhood affects the rest of a person’s life, and I liked the writing style. The characterizations are vivid, which makes sense considering how many pages and how much of their life we follow. But wow I am glad to be done with it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Grief, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Sexual assault

cinn_vida's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Alcohol, Body horror, Body shaming, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Drug use, Dysphoria, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Vomit, Addiction, Cancer, Car accident, Death of parent, Medical content, and Mental illness

celery's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual content, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Stalking, Violence, Vomit, Body shaming, Car accident, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship

nnoammoa's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Child abuse, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Self harm, Death, Mental illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, and Car accident

sachisoutham's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.75

The most disastrously beautiful book I've ever read. 
Tackling major issues and confronting the reader with heartbreaking and painful trauma as the book follows decades of adulthood for four male friends in New York.  This book made me sob until I couldn't breathe and I would let it do it to me again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Car accident, Blood, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Homophobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Rape, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Panic attacks/disorders

syonkerstalz's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Ableism, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Violence, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Suicide, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Blood, Mental illness, and Sexual violence

sleepyaquarius's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

3.75

Beautifully written and heartbreaking. Trigger warning for everything you can think of. I will never read this book again 👍

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Pedophilia, Grief, Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Body shaming, Addiction, Sexual assault, Ableism, Sexual violence, Rape, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

abbeyrode's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Chronic illness, Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Sexual assault, Drug use, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Suicide, Gore, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Addiction, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Death, Rape, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Medical content

matilidaad's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• 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

4.75

You have to be ready before you pick this book up. There are hundreds of pages of character building which can be slow and dry to get through but it is so so so relevant and important to the ending. 

This book has slow relationship development and gives you little peeks behind the characters history curtain before you get your return on investment. 

This book quite literally had me crying on the tram in public, it is so emotionally devastating but it is also the most beautiful story of love, friendship, trust, loss and trauma. It is incredible if you can stick with it 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Eating disorder, Chronic illness, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Suicide, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault