Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

40 reviews

livcashmere's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Bullying, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

jonmayb's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

My opinions on we this book are conflicting. While it took some time for her voice to settle in, I really enjoyed Nao’s perspective of this book, even though it was sometimes difficult to get a feel for who she was and what her values were. 
For the most part, I disliked Ruth’s point-of-view. While I enjoyed the depth, and the layer of mystery that her perspective added to Nao’s story, I don’t think it was necessary for it to have been so fleshed-put. While the versions of them in the book are fictional, having to read through Ruth and Oliver’s strained conversations proved awkward. For the most part, it was boring, and it often felt uncomfortable to read.
Additionally, I didn’t like the shift towards magical realism that the book took so close to the end, and the manner in which it practically made Ruth the savior of Nao’s story. 
I was ultimately disappointed by all the questions the book leave unanswered as well. However, despite all of these qualms I had with it, I did, for the most part, genuinely enjoy reading this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

schopflin's review against another edition

funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

This is a very good book, and has lots of touch points for me (librarianship, materiality of the book, even media monitoring) but there was something just a bit soft-centred and sprawling about it. It's highly readable though, don't let that put you off. It has echoes of Helen DeWitt's The Last Samurai which is less pageturning and more cynical, and which I preferred. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Animal death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, and Drug abuse

Minor: Mass/school shootings

alicelalicon's review

emotional 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Grief, and Self harm

Moderate: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Bullying, Drug use, Alcohol, Medical content, Racism, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Sexual content, Ableism, and Cursing

Minor: Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Suicidal thoughts

erinwolf1997's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Alcohol, Addiction, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual violence, Bullying, Sexual assault, Incest, Police brutality, Self harm, and Sexual content

librarianlayla's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

If you're looking for a book that has a lot of emotional range, but not overly littered with joy or hope - then this is for you.

Whilst beautifully written, raw and real - there wasn't a lot of light within this book. It holds a lot of pain, confusion and loss.

This book is designed to make you feel and to think on a broader spectrum. Less about enjoyment and more about emotional expansion within the realm of sorrow.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Abandonment, Addiction, Car accident, Drug use, Dysphoria, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death, Animal death, Cursing, Grief, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Hate crime

cozjetez's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent

Minor: Self harm and Drug abuse

danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad slow-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 kept going back and forth on my rating for this one between a 4 and a 5. And to be honest, if I was rating only on the quality of the writing, both prose and structure, it probably deserves a 4. Still a very good book,  but there were parts that definitely didn't work or felt narratively clumsy, but truthfully, forest for the trees I found it deeply emotional, moving, and what did work was breathtaking and deeply deeply affecting for me. So this is sort of a “you know what, f**ck it, despite its flaws I loved it” 5 stars. A teenager and his mother both battle mental illness in the aftermath of the sudden death of their father/husband. The teenager, Benny, hears voices. And inanimate objects speak to him. And one of those is an omniscient voice called "The Book". And the narrative toggles back and forth between Benny's perspective and the perspective of the eponymous anthropomorphic book. And this device was used brilliantly to drive home the book's larger themes about the meaning that we give objects in our lives, especially when dealing with grief.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Death of parent, Bullying, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcoholism

cmgriffin's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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 is the kind of book that takes you apart and puts you back together again. It’s great, and I’ll never re-read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Self harm

Moderate: Suicide, Animal death, Drug use, and Addiction

Minor: Bullying and Body shaming

bookmark3brodi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Alcohol, Animal death, Car accident, Medical content, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Addiction, Drug use, Blood, Bullying, and Death of parent