Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Long Bright River by Liz Moore

7 reviews

momocandy74's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

3.5

As a Philadelphia native, I loved all the name dropping of Philly landmarks (KOP, K&A, Franklin Institute, Mummer's Parade, Center City, the El, Academy of Music, Broad Street, the Ave, and probably more that I'm missing). I was surprised that the author isn't actually from here, and she clearly did her research with the locals. Especially when it comes to the culture around catholic schools and public schools, especially in the North/Northeast. 

However....I didn't love it. The ending was a little anti-climactic and

as happy as I was to learn that Kacey was safe and getting clean, her having been hiding away at their father's this entire time just felt so aggravating to me. After all that, she was in Delaware the entire time. And the reveal of who the killer was? I wish we had spent more time with him, making his guilt as the man killing these girls in the neighborhood have a little more weight, his reveal left me a little confused at first because i had honestly forgotten about him.

Overall though, a very well researched story taking place in Kensington and you can tell from every page that a lot of care was given to staying true to the locals and trying to tell the story from the point of a view of a local as best as possible, and I think she succeeded. Wasn't a huge fan of the overall plot (mostly just the ending), but I have to give credit for a great Philadelphia setting. 3.5! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Addiction, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Stalking, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Police brutality

josie2k's review

adventurous challenging dark informative 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Cursing, Drug abuse, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Abandonment, and Addiction

brookey8888's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-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

4.0

This was very good, but a hard read. The subject matter is dark and the implications are dark as well. That being said it’s so important to read about this. I do have to say the writing style of this is so odd and took me a while to get into. I think if this was written differently it could have been a five star and maybe more emotional. As for the thriller/mystery aspect it really wasn’t the main plot( and I found it predictable), but I still enjoyed it and that it was underlying. I really enjoyed learning more about the sister relationship and the family dynamics. I do have to say I didn’t love the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Drug use, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual violence, Cursing, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Classism, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Violence

caseythereader's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Mental illness, Blood, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Murder, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Grief, and Trafficking

Moderate: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual violence

betsygrace's review

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

I actually think this book is a great depiction of the reality of today’s opioid crisis. The plot had enough twists to keep me entertained and enough resolution by the time it ended, so I liked it quite a bit. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Misogyny, Abandonment, Grief, Gun violence, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Medical content, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Stalking, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Classism, Death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

ekmook's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Rape, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Sexism, Drug use, Death, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Abandonment

tiltedwhirled's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault