Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

60 reviews

michmoo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Rape, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Self harm

aubreystrawberry's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• 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, Child death, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Eating disorder, Blood, Sexual assault, and Infidelity

Minor: Cancer

amylou78's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

As a mystery fan, you sometimes feel like you’re reading the same basic book over and over. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it usually goes something like: establish the crime, establish the ”detective,” introduce the cast of quirky characters and potential suspects. Then, after a series of aha moments, flip through the pages as the detective closes in on the perpetrator. I loved this book for taking a fresh approach to the standard Dead Girl mystery. 

Makkai has already won a Pulitzer prize, so you know her prose is up to snuff. It’s never overly flowery, with plenty of artful observation and psychological insight. She’s not just walking us through the facts but the digressions never feel indulgent. 

I particularly appreciated the way she contextualizes the body of “yet another dead girl” in world that unfortunately, yet undeniably, produces an inappropriately high number of them. 

And for any formally awkward Gen Xers out there, this is a fun, nostalgic ride that does a lovely job of conjuring what it was like to experience high school in the ‘90s. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cancer, Car accident, and Child death

stephanieheld's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, and Sexual assault

Minor: Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, and Cancer

lindsayerin's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Sexual harassment, and Vomit

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Violence, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Racism, Medical trauma, Eating disorder, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, and Police brutality

Minor: Stalking, Cancer, Pandemic/Epidemic, Eating disorder, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Blood

arayo's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Cancer

eicart_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

I almost put this book down because I thought it was kinda boring at first (maybe the first 35 percent.) I expected a fast paced thriller/mystery, but that's not what this book is. I started to understand the bigger picture, let go of the idea that it was a typical thriller, and kept listening. I'm so glad I did because I ended up loving this! The book has so much to say about so many things: violence against women, racism in policing and criminal investigations, memories, family relationships, misogyny, social/economic class privilege, the use of social media to examine crimes... and a lot more.

The storytelling device used by the author to bring attention to the ever present news stories of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and violence against women was equal parts brilliant and heart wrenching. 

If you're looking for a mystery/thriller/true crime book that is straightforward and wraps things up in a neat bow, this is not the book for you. 

The audio is fantastic, narrated by Julia Whelan with a small cameo by JD Jackson. 

There is a lot of potentially triggering content in this book. Be mindful and maybe check The StoryGraph before diving in.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Sexual assault, Classism, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, and Racism

Minor: Terminal illness, Self harm, Eating disorder, Cancer, and Death

katarinabee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book is like the first season of the Serial podcast, crossed with the dark academia vibes of Tartt's "The Secret History".  It examines true crime as a genre - such as how invested we can get in a crime; how difficult it can be to find the "truth"; and the power/limitations of "citizen detectives". There's also a deep dive into cancel culture - how it can be important and useful for challenging abusers in positions of power, but also looking at  problematic aspects too. I watched Contrapoints' video essay on YouTube about cancel culture around the same time as reading this book, which was a really nice complement. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Racism, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Eating disorder, Grief, and Drug use

kathleenthebean's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Sexism

Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Racism, Blood, Cancer, Death, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual harassment

jesselopod's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

A well written book with a disappointing plot 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Cancer, Murder, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Drug abuse, and Rape