Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

85 reviews

daydreamereyes's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Grief and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Fatphobia

sarahkmcl's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Self harm, Death of parent, Death, and Drug abuse

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

kelreadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Mental illness

Moderate: Drug abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, and Self harm

chaya_v's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

I had a hard time getting into this book. I had to accustom myself to the writing style and the characters. But then all of the sudden I was hooked and couldn’t put this down. Benny, his mom, the Aleph they all felt so real and raw. This book was really emotional and makes you think so much. This was really beautiful. This is a strong 5 stars read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug abuse, Death, Self harm, Death of parent, and Violence

Minor: Suicide

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

ceejcook's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Xenophobia and Self harm

Minor: Drug use and Drug abuse

carolines's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, and Grief

cupidcove's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny sad fast-paced

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

3.25

I found this book a bit too John Green-y at times with the portrayal of one manic pixie dream girl character (Aleph) and her quirky cast of friends, but I ultimately found the narrative perspective and struture of the text and how it raises questions about the way we, as a society, frame questions about mental health interesting. I enjoyed the read, but wish I would have read it in high school. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Violence, Self harm, and Drug abuse

Minor: Animal death and Homophobia

larkken's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective slow-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Drug abuse