Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

True Biz by Sara Nović

4 reviews

pages_with_panda's review

emotional informative reflective 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

5.0

In a public school strapped for resources, extra tutoring and empathy had to be rationed, and they could not risk wasting it in her.

Ugh, the rage I felt during the first few chapters!! I felt so angry on behalf of Charlie but it was a solid reminder that this is the every day life for so many.

I really enjoyed diving into this book and the insight it gave into the Deaf community. It was super informative - I LOVED that the illustrations and info that would've been given to the ASL students/family was given to us, without being some kind of guide on Deafness.  Nović did a great job of balancing the fact and fiction. I read the hardcover edition of the book and was glad I did. Not sure how the illustrations would translate to an ebook or audiobook. There were other stylistic choices too that I liked, especially when multiple people were signing and you could visually see them separated on the page. I thought that was so ingenious! 

The story was also very interesting with a diverse cast - not a single person felt perfect. They were all human with their own flaws and issues and I really liked. I felt the anarchy route was interesting, and added some suspense and action to the every day lives of students. However, the rather anti-climatic ending did feel a little unrealistic.

On the other hand, I liked the open-ended conclusion, especially after reading the author's note. I didnt think it was that abrupt or lacking a conclusion. It felt real. 

386 pages. 
(⚠️Content Warnings; 
Graphic: Self-harm, medical trauma, death of a parent, ableism, violence,
Moderate: Car accident, 
Minor: Racism, Drug use,) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Ableism, Death of parent, Medical trauma, and Violence

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Drug use and Racism

sarah984's review against another edition

informative mysterious slow-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

3.0

This was a frustrating reading experience for me overall. I loved Charlie's story of acquiring language and access to Deaf culture, and realizing that adults you trust can fail you just as much as those you don't, but the resolution to her plotline is so heavy handed and the "if you don't support teens they will Have Sex And Do Drugs" bit is cartoonish. The main conflict with the teacher is boring because it's entirely her fault, and all of the love triangles are stupid. I liked the sign language examples, but some of the full text wikipedia article stuff felt pointless

(including step by step instructions for building a bomb if you're into that)

and could have been included in other ways. There is one major character of colour and she exists solely to experience anti-Black microaggressions and explain the concept of BASL to Charlie.

The story itself was whatever to me but the way the dialogue is written - between verbal, sign and text dialogue - was really well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death of parent, and Medical content

Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Pregnancy, Racism, Vomit, Infidelity, Police brutality, and Self harm

A major plotline involves teen characters

building pressure cooker bombs

imds's review

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Grief, Car accident, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Dementia, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Racism, and Self harm

Minor: Police brutality

bedtimesandbooks's review

emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Gore, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Cursing, Bullying, Alcohol, Dementia, Death of parent, Classism, Racism, and Vomit

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Self harm and Child death