Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

53 reviews

roanjackal's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-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

This book is phenomenal, and does an amazing job of talking about abuse in the harsh ugly way it deserves. This book was emotional and enchanting. I cant wait to read more of Ava's work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Body horror, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Racism, Misogyny, Bullying, Body shaming, and Death of parent

aliceruthmyles's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Cannibalism, Death, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Body horror, and Death of parent

no_one_important's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

I really enjoyed the book even though it was quite dark and different from what I would usually read. I loved the fairy tale aspects of it and how Marlinchen used them to understand the world. Even though there wasn't much action, I still found myself unable to stop reading at times, and I kept wanting to read more. This book in my option is well written. At times I  felt like I was in Marlinchen's head. Hearing her thoughts, smelling the food, and feeling what she felt. Other times I felt like an outsider intruding on her story, but too invested to look away.  The only bad things I can say are the I feel there was a bit too much of Marlinchen and Sevas. I wish there was more about her mother and their life while she was still alive. I also would have liked to read a bit more about Undline and Rose because they also suffered their fathers abuse but that wasn't really talked about. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Medical trauma, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Self harm

Moderate: Rape, Pedophilia, Animal death, and Xenophobia

Minor: Incest, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

edamamebean's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

I was completely spellbound by this book from start to finish. When I wasn’t reading it, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s definitely not a perfect novel. Ava Reid’s prose teeters towards heavy-handedness (something inevitably gets compared to snakes like every five paragraphs) but somehow it still really did it for me. I figured out the mystery element almost immediately, but I kind of think you’re supposed to know or acknowledge what Marlinchen can’t. She, as a main character, is frustratingly naive but you still root for her. Her mentality around sex and virginity is rooted in purity culture in a way that I didn’t like at first, but as I thought about it more I came to accept that it stemmed from the toxic environment she was raised in and wasn’t an opinion of the author herself. At the end of the day, Marlinchen’s sexual awakening is what frees her, so I’ll forgive it. This book gets a 10/10 for vibes and I really recommend it if you’re looking for a dark fairytale but for the love of god, read the content warnings first. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Medical trauma, Animal death, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Blood, Eating disorder, Gore, Xenophobia, Vomit, Murder, Antisemitism, Body horror, Violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Medical content, Body shaming, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail

itsheyfay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Confinement, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Murder, Self harm, Body horror, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Death, Gore, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Cursing, Gaslighting, Animal death, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Incest

xpelvicstabilityx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

1.0

Truly wish there were more trigger warnings with this book. The folk tale form is compelling but so many of the details are gruesome and disturbing in a way that made my skin crawl and still does when I’m reminded of it.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Sexism, Misogyny, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Murder, Confinement, and Medical trauma

itsmaryhell's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, Vomit, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Misogyny, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Self harm, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse

Minor: Abortion

wanderingmeek's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid

4/5⭐⭐⭐⭐

My eldest sister was right; I would smile blithely if someone tried to saw off my leg. But no one had ever told me that I was allowed to scream.

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Brilliant. Gruesome. Wild.

This story had me captivated from early on, because it was told in a beautifully mystical way. It had many gruesome twists and turns. Although, the imagery provided may not be suitable for every reader.. It was a story of how great and continual trauma can warp the mind. Developing into an exploration on how scary and difficult it can be to break the cycle of abuse that you have settled into to ensure survival.

While difficult to endure at times it was an enthralling read.

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Marlinchen is our main character and narrator. We are introduced to Oblya through her eyes and her experiences. Which, initially, are heavily influenced by her father. She grew up the youngest of three sisters and was quite young when her father transformed their mother into a bird and then killed her. This left the girls vulnerable to their father’s sick and uncaring mind during very impressionable years of their lives. Her father takes advantage of her eagerness to please and uses many forms of abuse to manipulate all three of his daughters into doing what he wants. The older two take many opportunities to rebel and take Marlinchen along on a forbidden outing that will change all of their lives.

This entire novel is watching Marlinchen evolve from the meek girl who is deeply entrenched under her father’s control into a young woman who tries her best to save them all.

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Trigger Warnings: Emotional Abuse, Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Eating disorder, Blood, Body Horror, Cannibalism, Gore, Child Abuse

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Body horror, Medical trauma, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse

meat_muffin's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.75

Listen, this book was… weird. And not my usual style at all! I’m glad I read it, enjoyed the writing style, but it wrapped up leaving me more confused than anything else and not filling in all of the plot holes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fatphobia, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Cannibalism, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Abortion, Addiction, and Alcohol

anntharai's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Self harm, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Xenophobia, Vomit, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Death, Sexism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Classism, Confinement, Eating disorder, and Medical trauma