Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He

4 reviews

decklededgess's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

trigger warnings: death, death of parent, grief, gore, gun violence, physical injury and violence, mental illness, murder, anxiety and panic disorder, classism, sexual content, suicide, violence

Based on the premise of this book, I expected two sisters separated by circumstance trying to find out what happened/trying to get back to each other. I did not expect a futuristic commentary of environmental deterioration, social media/s toxic impact on class hierarchy and disengagement from reality, and a deeply incisive look into what it means to trust and to be family.

Ouch.

That's really all I want to say because every point past 30% is a spoiler for some spectacular plot twists. The book leaves you with the perfect amount of explicit information to let you sit and ponder the what ifs of what happens past the last page and in the unsaid moments. Beautifully done.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

emily_mh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad 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

Okay this book hit me quite hard which is the main reason why I've rated it so highly. It was confronting and haunting; whenever I finished a reading stint I had to stare into space for a bit and process what I had just read. It raised so many challenging questions, like how much personal freedom we can morally have in an environmental crisis, and who gets to decide who survives such a crisis. I was fascinated by how He envisioned the future of humanity, especially the solutions people made to reduce their carbon footprint. I also loved the sister relationship in this. They had such deep connection and love for one another. 

I docked my rating half a star for two reasons. The first is that the writing could be very confusing from Kasey's perspective, both in terms of world-building and interpreting her personality. The pacing in this perspective also grew to be quite erratic. The second reason was the romance.

I wish that Cee and Hero's relationship had been platonic. Or at least if it had to be romantic/sexual, I wish that their physical intimacy wasn't the reason why Cee's happiness spiked so high. Emotional connection provides happiness too, and more stable happiness that I feel that Kasey would have programmed for.

In all honesty though, when a book impacts me the way this one did, reasons such as those aforementioned aren't enough to significantly affect the overall star rating, hence only a half-star dock.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

starccato's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, and Murder

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Vomit

krystalg's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Physical abuse