Scan barcode
savvylit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This wouldn't be a Mona Awad book, though, without a hypnotic descent into fever dream territory. After Miranda has a magical encounter at a pub, her narration becomes more and more unreliable. What's real in Miranda's life? She herself has no idea. This segment of the book was certainly an entertaining rollercoaster ride. However, it seemed to drag on and on only to maintain ambiguity. Perhaps my lack of familiarity with Shakespeare's less popular plays is what led to my feeling of disconnect from All's Well by its ending. I could tell that Awad was referencing Shakespearean tropes and characters but many of the references flew right over my head.
Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Drug use, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, and Injury/Injury detail
decie's review against another edition
1.0
I am literally begging authors to stop using the magically disabled and tragically disabled tropes in their books. it really shouldn't be this hard.
I also felt like Awad was trying to have an unreliable narrator but made her so unreliable that half of the story was lost. we only needed one sentence from a onlooker's pov to make the entire book make sense, but we didn't get that. instead, we got a bizarre ableist fever dream without any clear messaging. wild.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Sexual content, Death, and Misogyny
Minor: Alcohol, Physical abuse, and Rape
bdingz's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Chronic illness and Self harm
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Addiction
sadiedumplingreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Chronic illness
Minor: Blood
elliesberrie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood
angel_kiiss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Blood, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexism
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The main character, Miranda, suffers from chronic pain with no concrete answers as to what's causing it. As someone who has been suffering with chronic pain since I was a teenager, I found I could relate to Miranda in so many ways. I understood her on such a personal level that I almost cried. I will say that if you can't relate to or understand her, then you may end up finding her to be annoying or whiny. Her pain is a huge part of the story, so be prepared to hear about it constantly.
Through this story we essentially live inside Miranda's head. This means that it is written as someone's train of thought would be, so there are very short sentences quite often. There are also a lot of flashbacks about her past as people and places remind her of happier times in her life. This kind of blurs the lines between reality and the past.
If you've read Bunny, then you are familiar with Mona Awad's ability to write an ending where there are multiple interpretations to what actually happened. I personally love this, and you can expect the same in All's Well. For a good chunk of it, it seems like there's just one path, but the last third really opens up other doors to possibilities, and I am here for it !
if you enjoy stories with an unreliable narrator, that are strange and bizzare, and deal with someone fighting the system to be heard, then I would 100% recommend this book. It's truly a phantasmagoria of pain, loss, and the right to live.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Blood, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders
ninjamuse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Medical trauma, and Medical content
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual assault