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mossybean's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
dlianna's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
kcera's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Nina Lacour can write lonely so well, and this book is no exception. It was lonely, sad, and heartbreaking. There were moments where I had to set the book down in my lap so I could sob before continuing on with the story because it was so sad. And even now I keep reflecting on my thoughts for the book, and getting punched in the gut from a memory connected to Mila's journey.
I do want to be clear, however. This book is very good. The ending is ambiguous in its conclusions. It feels confusing in a way that reflects the world we live in. And my eyes are swollen from how much I cried for Mila and all the children in this book. I'm tearing up right now. And this book was so good.
I do want to be clear, however. This book is very good. The ending is ambiguous in its conclusions. It feels confusing in a way that reflects the world we live in. And my eyes are swollen from how much I cried for Mila and all the children in this book. I'm tearing up right now. And this book was so good.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
I think anyone working through their own trauma will either find this book helpful or painful. Mentally prepare yourself before reading and expect to feel your own trauma as Mila works through hers. Those who feel a lot of empathy should not read this book in public. You will cry, and you might cry as much as I did.capreliber's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
To those familiar with Nina LaCour's writing, it should come as no surprise that loss and grief are prominent themes in Watch Over Me. There is a sense of sadness that pervades the novel, infusing all of its characters with a tragic feeling of melancholia. However, unlike LaCour's other works, her latest dabbles in magical realism as ghosts (both literal and metaphorical) are recurring motifs throughout the story. The remoteness of the setting, the mysterious fog, and the crashing waves of the surrounding sea all evoke the atmosphere of a classic gothic novel. And, true to the gothic tradition, Watch Over Me combines horror (in the form of abuse), death (spirits), and romance (self-love) in its storytelling to create a beautiful allegory about dealing with loss and healing from trauma.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Toxic relationship
whatellisreadnext's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
๐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ.
"๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ," ๐ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง.
๐ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌโ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ง๐ต ๐ฑ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ, ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฌ๐บ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต, ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ.
"๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ," ๐ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด. "๐๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ."
Mila accepts a job as a teacher on a remote farm. She is used to being alone, spending most of her life in foster care. The job is everything she could have a dreamed of, but it turns out the farm is full of ghosts.
I loved this book. It was my first time reading Nina Lacour but it definitely won't be my last. I've seen people saying she writes loneliness like nobody else, and they aren't wrong. Sitting at 261 pages, this is the perfect little ghost story, but it is so much deeper than that. If you're sick of the generic spooks, and are craving something with more meaning and heart, then this just might be the ticket for you.
Lacour's writing truly transported me to this secluded farm by the sea. I honestly felt like I could smell the place. I wanted so badly to live in that tiny cabin with my own wood burner. To spend my Sunday mornings at the farmers market and then in the afternoon, spend the money I'd earned in a bookshop. To make my own butter, and put it on bread to dunk in some homemade soup. It is literally an introverts paradise.
This is the book I'll probably spend all Autumn forcing on anybody who will listen๐๐ป
"๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ," ๐ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง.
๐ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌโ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ง๐ต ๐ฑ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ, ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฌ๐บ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต, ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ.
"๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ," ๐ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด. "๐๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ."
Mila accepts a job as a teacher on a remote farm. She is used to being alone, spending most of her life in foster care. The job is everything she could have a dreamed of, but it turns out the farm is full of ghosts.
I loved this book. It was my first time reading Nina Lacour but it definitely won't be my last. I've seen people saying she writes loneliness like nobody else, and they aren't wrong. Sitting at 261 pages, this is the perfect little ghost story, but it is so much deeper than that. If you're sick of the generic spooks, and are craving something with more meaning and heart, then this just might be the ticket for you.
Lacour's writing truly transported me to this secluded farm by the sea. I honestly felt like I could smell the place. I wanted so badly to live in that tiny cabin with my own wood burner. To spend my Sunday mornings at the farmers market and then in the afternoon, spend the money I'd earned in a bookshop. To make my own butter, and put it on bread to dunk in some homemade soup. It is literally an introverts paradise.
This is the book I'll probably spend all Autumn forcing on anybody who will listen๐๐ป
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
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