Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

128 reviews

delaneydunster's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Murder, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse

kmack79's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

I absolutely enjoyed this book! It was mainly in Leni's perspective, a 13 yr old girl pulled to Alaska when her father came back from being a POW in the Vietnam War, and he came back a very different person! Leni and her mother walk on eggshells to try to keep him happy! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Violence, Cursing, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Alcoholism, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, War, and Child abuse

erinmasterson's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Death, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Alcoholism, and Cancer

Minor: Terminal illness, Vomit, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War

hollydyer328's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

Such an emotional story and it went in a direction that I was not expecting! This deals with some tough themes throughout and really hard things happen to the characters, but there is a glimmer of hope at the end. I listened on audio - this was my first time listening to Julia Whelan and I am officially a fan! Fantastic narration and impersonation of characters!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Mental illness

hugsy85's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

One of the best books I have read. Kristin Hannah really has a way of making you feel every kind of emotion and I loved the way she spent time describing Alaska, the importance of community and friendship as well as the complexities of love.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, War, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, and Toxic relationship

emadisonc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

3.0

In the silence, she wondered if one person could ever really save another, or if it was the kind of thing you had to do for yourself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Pregnancy

hannah_wilson315's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

This was an incredible book. I loved learning about Alaska in the 70’s and 80’s. There was so much depth in the book. Romance, friendship, community, education, adventure, family dynamics, young love, mental health, injustice… the list goes on and on. All of these were perfectly told and woven together. I couldn’t recommend this read enough! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Cancer, Blood, Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Violence, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Pregnancy and Animal death

erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book is heavy. Please read content warnings before beginning this one. 

My experience reading Leni’s journey through adolescence and into adulthood was harrowing, shocking, revolting, and frustrating. I felt all of these things but I did care about all the people in Leni’s life

except for Ernt

, which kept me riveted, hoping for everyone to end up happy. Although I didn’t feel like I truly knew Leni as a person, the one thing I knew for certain was that she valued those she loved. This was her core belief throughout her story and the author does a fantastic job of making you care for those people as well. The amount of time you get to spend seeing Leni’s loved ones through her eyes makes every twist and turn absolutely heart-wrenching and fraught with emotion. This book was never boring and it’s one of those stories that, upon finishing, you will need to lie down and just contemplate for a bit, exhausted but satisfied. 

Read if you like emotional, terrifyingly believable stories about survival and family. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Gore, and Gun violence

Minor: Death of parent, Vomit, and Cancer

nc_unknown_user's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, War, Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death, Cursing, Death of parent, Gun violence, Cancer, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, and Gore

Minor: Pregnancy

haleyshort's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

3.25

I found this listening experience to be truly distressing. The narrator was amazing but the brutality and relentlessness of the story made it genuinely unpleasant to consume. It put me in a bad mood! I checked to see how many hours were left 4 or 5 times. So I absolutely do not recommend this book for all of those reasons. But it is well written and the characters are compelling. Maybe I’m just not built for consuming this kind of violence. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Sexual violence, and Animal death