Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi

26 reviews

liesbethvv's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I'm having a hard time rating this book. On the one hand, it took me quite some time to get into it, had a relatively slow start for me. There were no loveable characters to get attached to, but this made the reading experience more interesting and nuanced. I'm not convinced that the changed title (from 'Girl in White Cotton') was a good choice contentwise, although I agree it is more enticing. I don't really love

open endings, but it felt quite good in this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Child abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Vomit, and Violence

spinesinaline's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

4.25

Possibly the most shocking opening line after that beautiful cover, “I would be lying if I say my mother’s misery has never given me pleasure”. I knew this would not be a lighthearted read from that start but this was a very intense, visceral read.

Antara has an incredibly complicated relationship with her mother, who appears to be developing dementia. As Antara struggles to care for her, and get her family and medical team to believe her worsening condition, we flash through Antara and Tara’s past, often flitting through memories at random and out of order.

The author does an excellent job at disorienting the reader and each time I thought I had a read on the MC, she would reveal something new that would twist everything I thought I knew! It’s a tricky story, dark and emotional and a little sinister and I was absolutely hooked.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Dementia, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

grace_cr1's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Mental illness, Alcohol, Blood, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Cursing, and Dementia

sunnymushroom's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Classism, and Abortion

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, and Slavery

franceselsie's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

3.75

“We are all unreliable.” This is the line that really resonates with me having completed this book. Overall the novel is quite slow paced and follows a daughter reflecting on her complicated relationship with her mother. The last quarter of this book is particularly gripping, and makes you question a lot of what has been presented previously. 

I found one or two of the chapters a bit jarring (such as the chapter when Tara and Antara first visit the Ashram) as they seemed to break the flow of the narrative a bit, but the conclusion and ending is great. I think this novel will stay with me for some time.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Sexual content

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

flashandoutbreak's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Emotional abuse

sophsg88's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

painausten314's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

laurataylor's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

5aru's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.0

A strong, raw exploration of motherhood and trauma through Antara's troubled eyes. Even though the book is very specifically focused on her individual struggle with her past and her complex, toxic relationship with her mother, there is much about her experience that is universal. The description of those feelings - of insufficiency, of stagnation, of bottled anger and unmet needs, of desperation and entrapment - is really what makes this novel, and drives it directly to the heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia and Pregnancy

Moderate: Vomit, Excrement, Dysphoria, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, and Body shaming