Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

345 reviews

a_rash_read's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Vomit, Toxic friendship, Pandemic/Epidemic, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Drug use, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

theothergrl's review against another edition

reflective medium-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

4.5

Sally Rooney's characters are nothing if not realistic. I felt I was reading about the people in my own life, about the actual stories of ordinary folk. These aren't love stories that swell the heart with big gestures and serendipitous circumstances that have one believing in the miracles of romance. But they are real. The end game is flawed, the relationships are messy, not in the dramatic sense, but ordinarily so. Sally Rooney writes, with good understanding, about the socio-economic factors that play into our interpersonal lives. How class differences can forge oceans between us, how power dynamics in age gaps can be so easy to fall into and so hard to crawl out of. I found it smart, the way she wrote in third person, as an observer, because it really instated the reality of such things. That most of the time they aren't overcome. That, at the end of the day, these are just the normal people we see at the supermarket or catching a train. I appreciated that the most when I finished the book. I felt like I was being told that it's going to be okay, that even though I can't overcome everything, there is still beauty to be found amongst it all.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Drug use, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Bullying, Pregnancy, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

naff_tm's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Medical trauma

wiktoria_bojda's review against another edition

emotional reflective

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Mental illness

gracedunne's review

emotional 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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Drug use, Abortion, and Pregnancy

ara_beg's review

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

I really love Sally Rooney’s unique writing style. This is the second book of hers that I have read. It was well written and the characters were interesting and quite realistic. I really enjoyed - as always with Rooney - the philosophical aspects she inserts when writing about the characters’ thoughts. Towards the end I got a bit triggered though by some depressive thoughts that one of them had. There were a few parts of the book (in SOME of the email exchanges) that I found hard to follow and therefore got a bit boring, which is why this book gets just below five stars from me. But overall I really enjoyed reading it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Mental illness

Moderate: Pregnancy

pmejia's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

Minor: Death, Drug use, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Pregnancy

remib's review

emotional funny medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness

shaylac's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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

3.5

The characters and their relationships are intriguing, yet there's a sense of self-absorption that can be a tad much. The prose, while occasionally sophisticated, may border on pretentious, and the pacing tends to drag in certain spots.

The exploration of friendship and love carries depth, but it feels like Rooney didn't quite hit the mark. There are glimpses of brilliance, but the overall storytelling lacks the punch I was hoping for. It's a hesitant four stars, acknowledging the highlights amid the imperfections.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Minor: Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, Drug use, Mental illness, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, and Death of parent

bookmarkplaces's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Forced institutionalization