Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

110 reviews

riverofhorton's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-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

This book was completely unexpected for me. Going into it, I knew nothing but what the blurb says and that it is/was quite popular on BookTok. What I definitely did not expect was to read this in one sitting. It does have a couple of slight issues that had me wondering what the editor was doing, but those instances thankfully don't impact on the story itself. Apart from those minor issues, I found this book to be a very enjoyable read and will be returning to it again in the future. It has an intriguing premise at its heart which I haven't personally encountered before, and provided a fascinating way to gain perspective on life. Indeed, at several points, I found myself wondering if the library is actually real, in the context of some of my own experiences.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, Colonisation, Gore, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Cursing, Drug use, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

kalagrace's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

If you have to read this book, the audiobook narrated by Carey Mulligan was the only enjoyable part of the seven hours I’ll never get back. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Panic attacks/disorders

pianokeys's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Grief, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship

kularhi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Grief, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Suicide

Moderate: Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Vomit and Cancer

lukeaitch's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-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

2.5

I can see how this would have broad appeal. An interesting take on the topic of mental health and suicide, but by making it broadly appealing it lacks some nuance and grit. Overall a fine read (probably good for a book club, it would spark interesting conversation), but it often felt flat or sterile and I found it lacking depth in many of the alternate lives the main character experiences. Everything is wrapped in a nice bow at the end, though. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

birdieex's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Death, Grief, Suicide, Death of parent, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Moderate: Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, Medical content, Cancer, and Homophobia

Minor: Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Sexual assault, and Infidelity

scholastic_squid's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Addiction, Death of parent, and Bullying

junekay's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

4.0

Very good.very predictable, but very good. Worth staying up way too late and finish in one sitting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Car accident, Stalking, Death of parent, and Animal death

emsavors's review against another edition

dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Death, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Grief, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Death of parent, Dementia, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Stalking, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality

also_micah's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Suicide and Grief

Minor: Car accident, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Alcohol, and Alcoholism