Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante

6 reviews

lizzyc_16's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

this book was so fricking good. i'll write an organized review later...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Violence, Gun violence, Cursing, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Sexual assault

george_d_keaton's review

emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.25

The Grief Keeper is romantic speculative YA LGBTQ fiction. Yeah, that's a mouthful. The book follows Marisol who, along with her sister, will do anything to stay in America. This includes being part of a government experiment involving PTSD. Over the course of the story, Marisol falls in love with the other member of the experiment, and not only has to deal with the grief of another, but the truth of her own past.

It was a difficult read for me. I suffer from PTSD from my time in the Marines, and the novel paints some realistic pictures of fictional tragedies. The book also describes the unending waves of crushing emotions one feels when going through intense heartache. Therapy and time are the traditional healers, but the government experiment on immigrants was both hopeful and toxic. Marisol is 17 and doesn't fully know what she is signing her life away for, which is similar to too many Marines I knew, but it does promise a better life for the subject of the experiment.

Over the course of the story, Marisol takes part of the experiment, but falls in love with the other participant, Rey. She also comes to terms with her past life in El Salvador. While the ending falls a little flat, it does provide hope for a better future for Marisol and her sister here in America. At times sweet and other times gut-wrenching, The Grief Keeper is a unique story of a young immigrant not only coming-of-age but triumphing over her past.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Grief, and Self harm

kathsaph's review

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? No

4.75

"The Grief Keeper" is the story of Marisol, a seventeen-year-old girl, who flees El Salvador with her little sister under threat of death. Once in America Marisol is offered the chance to win asylum by participating in an experiment; taking another person's grief. What she does not expect is falling in love with the girl she is saving. 

This novel was personally difficult to read, but completely relevant and impactful. So many details were packed into 300 pages, all contributing to amazing character development and storytelling. The book is in the first person and often includes Spanish, I ended up looking up the words as I went along, and I recommend doing the same, it added another layer of depth. My response to "The Grief Keeper" was visceral, and although not all of the technology in the book exists, the societal views that would allow the experiment to happen do, making the book terrifying. Please check triggers before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Gun violence, Homophobia, Medical content, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Torture, Violence, and Sexism

Minor: Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Body shaming

morganperks's review

dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Xenophobia

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

Marisol and her sister Gabi have come to the US as refugees to escape gang violence back home. When restrictive boarder practices threaten to send them home, Marisol agrees to become part of a medical experiment in order to have their asylum request heard. The experiment seeks to try a new medical technology designed to transfer grief and trauma from someone experiencing them to someone else as a sort of temporary holding tank of sorts. Marisol is paired with a girl her age who recently lost a sibling in a traumatic way. 

I enjoyed this read quite a bit. The story flowed smoothly, and the characters were engaging. I thought the concept of transferring grief and trauma from one person to another was an interesting, though troubling, concept and it was well executed here. It was stressful seeing Marisol fall prey to unethical practices targeting vulnerable populations! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Death of sibling, PTSD, flashback, battlefield trauma, explosion trauma, medical science unethically taking advantage of vulnerable populations, detention center, US immigration practices

loraora's review

dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, and Homophobia