Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

17 reviews

blackcatkai's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.0

CW: Body horror, Murder, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Classism, Blood, Medical content, Addiction, Death of parent, Toxic relationships, Suicide, Grief

me: i dont like time travel
book: how about parallel universes?
me: .... go on

seriously, i didnt know how i was going to feel about this book going in as scifi is really not my go-to genre but i kept seeing it around and then my spouse told me how good it was so i finally gave it a try. and oh did Micaiah Johnson have me ENTHRALLED. this was fun, funny, shocking, stressful, and just wonderful. the pacing was just a smidge bit off for me in parts, but i am so glad i read it and i absolutely will read the next book when it comes out, thank you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Classism, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Body horror, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicide and Grief

piphux's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Classism, Murder, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Vomit

ronjaorsomething's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense 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

I loved this book so much. The characters were very diverse in so many ways (race, sexuality, religion and class being the main ones). And the book managed to bring up societal issues in a really good way. I also liked the plot twists and how genuinely unpredictable the whole book was.

AND THE ENDING OMG it was perfect. The way it was very much a happy ending but not at all the way you'd expect. I was so happy that Cara ended up with Dell but still worked in Ash.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Gaslighting

Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, War, Suicide, and Addiction

actionleaguemeow's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual content and Suicide

emilyinherhead's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious 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

4.5

If this is how death finds me, at least it will be different. I have died a hundred ways, but never in defense of another. Not until now.

I make a list of what I need to accomplish, which is long. Then I make a list of people I can trust, which is short. By the time I finish planning, the candle is out, though the smoke still hangs heavy like a ghost.

Cara is a traverser in a multiverse where there are 382 Earths—she can travel to any of these that no longer contains a living version of herself. Over the course of several routine data-collection "pulls," she learns things about her past, her family, and her employer that prompt some tough decisions and a plan that will save lives.

The premise of this book hooked me immediately! I mean, the ramifications of knowing that hundreds of your alternate selves are dead on their respective planets—wow.

This is science fiction, but it feels very rooted in our world and our issues; through Cara's story, and with incredible skill and finesse, Johnson explores topics like race, class, income inequality, sex work, and religion. The character development is great, too. Cara is bisexual, but it's just part of her life, not a plot point or learning moment or coming-out story or traumatic sob fest. I loved her relationships with her mentor, Jean, and her watcher, Dell, and found the characters of Nik Nik and Adam to be especially fascinating. 

There are a few twists and turns in the plot, and they are spaced out very well instead of all heaped on toward the end, which made for a propulsive reading experience. Every time I picked it back up, I was fully and quickly immersed. I feel like I'm still learning to like sci-fi, but this book made it easy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Suicide

troisha's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Xenophobia

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Vomit

paxson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense 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

3.75

a look into the butterfly effect and what we can truly know of other people. Handles racism, domestic violence, sexual assault, sexism, and homophobia critically and in a self-aware manner. Pansexual protagonist and gender non-confirming characters aplenty changes some of the common archetypes from this kind of sci-fi speculative fiction. A worthwhile read if you are like Cara trying to overcome a traumatic past.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Addiction, Suicide, Sexual violence, and Panic attacks/disorders