Reviews with content warning for Eating disorder - Bellies

Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

jamie_macdonald's review

challenging medium-paced

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

1.0

If it hadnt been a book club read Bellies would have ended up in a dnf pile. A mixture of stunted, awkward prose and predictable, YA-style melodrama made this a really difficult book for me to get through.

I know that a lot of readers love this book and usually that's enough for me to find something to be excited about. In the case of Bellies, though, reading was nothing short of a chore. Boring, ill-realised characters; clumsy prose; weird sexual moralising; and tell dont show therapy speak dialogue make for a tough read.

Ultimately this is a book that just isn't for me. That's ok. Bellies is a sort of queer repackage of the Sally Rooney thing. There are queer characters and relationships sure; but that's really where the queerness stops. When a book is described as irresistibly queer on the cover, I expect/want that queerness to spread at least somewhat to form and style. Instead Bellies is just a pretty standard post-YA romance novel. You might love this book if you're into that, but it really isn't for me. Between that and kind of shoddy writing, it earns its one-star rating :(

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amandalorianxo's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this debut. I know characters being likable shouldn’t steer my opinion about a novel but I truly couldn’t find anyone to sympathize / connect with. The anxiety and tumultuous feelings Ming felt before her transition made me sympathetic. Idk for a book about being vulnerable / showing your belly … there was more selfishness and general prick like behavior (aka Tom) The abrupt past / present shifts was a tad confusing.

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monty_mo's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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northernbiblio's review

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emotional funny reflective sad slow-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

4.0

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leoniepeonie's review

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emotional reflective medium-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

4.5

A wonderful book. I loved Tom and Ming's story, and found it achingly real and beautiful, dealing so well with anxiety and vulnerability and complicated emotions. I struggled a bit with the audiobook and am not sure I'd recommend reading it in that form - I found the way the actor playing Ming ended every third sentence or so as though it was a question very distracting, and the mispronunciation of multiple words and bits of Malaysian speech made things feel less believable. I'm glad I carried on though, because the story was a really special one, and brought me to tears at times. I'd without a doubt read other works by Nicola Dinan.

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sadpear's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

A gorgeously built, resonant work that speaks to the fears and anxieties about love and belonging and friendship, as well as joy of it. Wonderfully queer and modern.

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sghuerta's review against another edition

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

2.5

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evfav's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-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

4.0

I was completely engrossed in this book, I’ve never finished anything so quickly because I was always wanting to pick it up and every time I did I got lost in it’s pages for hours at a time. This story broke my heart in all the ways I expected and some more that I didn’t. Every character revealed vulnerability and depth and felt so real. The way Tom and Ming’s relationship developed felt so natural and warmed and broke my heart. This was an amazing story about self discovery, learning to love yourself, and the hardships of growing into a chaotic world, but it was always grounded in the important lasting friendships.

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