Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

18 reviews

astoriareader's review

emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

SYNOPSIS

• We get to follow the lives of Patch & Saint over a 25 year span, namely from 1976-2001.
• We start in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri. Patch & Saint are young & friends, and they only have each other. They are outsiders & don’t really fit in with everyone else at school. One day, Patch saves a girl, Misty, from being taken by a man in the woods. In the process of saving Misty, Patch is taken himself.
• I don’t want to spoil more, so I will leave it at the story follows Patch & Saint for 25 years and how they intertwine.

MY THOUGHTS

• At 608 pages, this book may be intimidating to some, but the chapters are all short & digestible. It’s a slow burn, but a big payoff. Worth the read. Very satisfying ending.
• The book is a mix of genres and topics - mystery, literary fiction, love story/romance, thriller, missing girls, coming of age, & even some mentions of historical events.
• The characters are so deep, complex,  & vividly captured. One of the best character studies I have ever read.
• Loved the exploration of loyalty, trauma, courage, vulnerability, family (ones you are born into & ones you make along the way), friendship, hope, grief, guilt, the different kinds of love, & more that I am missing.
• A masterpiece. The plot & characters are expertly woven together. Whitaker is clearly an expert storyteller. It all flows so well. Excellent pacing.
• Gorgeous, poetic prose. Not sure how I haven’t read any of Whitaker’s books before, but can’t wait to get his other ones.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️it’s only September, but this is one of the best books of 2024. one of my new favorites of all time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Terminal illness, and Grief

Minor: Incest, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Abortion

llothspeich's review

adventurous mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness

Minor: Suicide

ladybug12793's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

3.5

This had so much potential to be at five star read, but it was overly drawn out over decades. Not the typical mystery thriller. 300 pages could have been omitted easily. The writing itself was beautiful and heartbreaking but a lot of it was unnecessary. I literally read 18 books in between finishing this book because I kept having to set it down because I got so bored. I almost DNF’ed too many times to count

This is by far SLOWWWW paced FYI.

Also, saint deserves sooo much better. Disappointing. Didn’t even end how I hoped. And Patch and Grace didn’t even end up together. It’s super unrealistic that the doctor stayed in prison for 20 years and allowed himself to almost be put to death for a crime he didn’t even commit because of HIPAA that doesn’t even come into account since the patient was dead. Also there’s mandatory reporting for rape, especially statutory rape as healthcare workers. Moronic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cancer, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Grief, Abortion, and Murder

Slow paced

cnewt8's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Incest, Suicide, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

hannah_hearts_books's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Well, I didn’t see myself giving this 5 stars, but here we are. First of all, I think this book has been placed in the wrong genre category. All the Colors of the Dark is definitely a literary fiction story with a crime story subplot. This book is not a mystery and not a thriller. Instead,this is a book which allows the reader to follow the aftermath of three kids who were in the cross-hairs of a serial killer.We watch the kids grow up over the course of 30-ish years dealing with their issues the best that we can they can. We see how violence and trauma can affect people and how it can be people’s driving force for the remainder of their life. This book is expansive and sweeping. A beautiful story of friendship and love, beekeepers and pirates. IYKYK. Would this ever be a book that I would normally pick up? No. Was it long as hell? Yes. Was it daunting when I picked it up? Yes.Was every page worth it? Yes. What a beautiful read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest and Rape

cfreeman129's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Terminal illness

Minor: Rape, Abortion, and Murder

katharina90's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.5

This book wrecked me. Entirely and absolutely.

It's the slowest paced thriller I've ever read, but the short chapters paired with a writing style that leaves you guessing did add a certain level of thrill.

I loved the complex, flawed characters and their relationships with one another. It's a heartbreaking but beautiful story. Many plot twists, some of which I really didn't see coming. 

There's a lot going on in this book--maybe a little too much, maybe it's longer than it needed to be--but overall, it was a captivating and moving read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Kidnapping

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Homophobia, Rape, and Suicide

mysterymom40's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

Moderate: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting