Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

55 reviews

peeshpish's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

It was a slow start but once it picks up, it moves fast. The story flows well once the three POVs become more closely intertwined & the connections are more clear. There are many twists & turns along the way, & the story continues to develop until the very last sentence. Libby’s POV is an often needed relief from the heaviness of the other two, much less tense but still moves the story forward. Many characters felt flat or aligned with stereotypes that I’d expect more from a book written earlier than one written in 2019, but I still ended up reading most of the book in one sitting so I was definitely invested.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicide, Homophobia, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Infertility, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Blood, and Pedophilia

Lucy’s chapters are heavy with

sexual assault & domestic violence. She is raped & murders her attacker. If it helps to know, she is not punished for killing him.

The chapters set in the past (labelled “Chelsea, [year]”) contain a lot lf

child abuse, domestic violence, & are where most of the content warnings come into play.

Libby’s chapters are generally safe for content, mostly vague details about the fate & story of the people who lived in the house she inherits.

dilani's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

3.5

I thought I had an idea of what this book was going to be until I got 20% of the way in. There were moments that were dark and gritty. It still made me want to keep reading. I enjoyed the writing for the most part and the way characters interacted.

 There were three different POV’s from Libby, Lucy, and Henry. I saw the connection Jewell was trying to form between the three but it got too confusing at times. I did like the ending and am very interested in seeing where this family will end up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Murder

Minor: Miscarriage

thekiwibibliophile's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I am officially a Lisa Jewell fan! I have read one other book by her & this proves it was not just a fluke. I love a multiple POV & this book had 3, as well as different narrators for each POV. I love the tension that is built in these books & that there is always enough pay off but not EVERYTHING is wrapped up in a bow. Kept me gripped!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Suicide, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Abandonment

amgarrido's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Drug use, and Confinement

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, Blood, Sexual assault, Infertility, and Infidelity

isotope_s's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pregnancy, Murder, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Confinement

Minor: Violence, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Abandonment

laurennicole98's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Confinement, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Chronic illness, Death, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal death, Abandonment, Drug use, and Mental illness

brynhayes's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Abortion, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Torture, Toxic relationship, Confinement, and Death

dsmith111's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book is fantastic. My only down would be the amount of characters and how it isn’t easy to know who’s writing a certain chapter.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Rape, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Incest

Minor: Animal death

ashlyreadsevrythg's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

What a great read. And Holy crap was it a Rollercoaster ride!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Bullying, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, and Sexual assault

emmylamptey's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

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

1.75

This book was horribly boring, slow, and confusing. I read the whole thing, despite wanting to DNF every time I picked it up and it felt like such a chore to finish. 

There was absolutely no appeal to this story for me. The “cult” aspect was underdeveloped, the cast of characters was extremely large and somewhat difficult to keep track of due to the differing timelines, and the story just seemed to simultaneously be too long and also left so much unanswered. 

Perhaps this should have been a short story or novelette. 

I *think* one of the narrators was unreliable since other characters discussed the events differently but I couldn’t even work that out by the end. I still am struggling to make out whether I actually understood the ending. 

This book was a waste of time to read - I cannot believe it has earned a sequel. Do yourselves a favour and put this book back on the shelf and walk away, knowing your life is better for not having read this book filled with graphic descriptions of child abuse, rape (way too graphic), “consensual” adult-child relationships, and more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Abortion