Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

All's Well by Mona Awad

45 reviews

orlagal's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

raitherabbit's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

As someone who does theatre, this book wrecked me. As someone who also has a degree in psychology, this book was fascinating and kept me asking for more. Watching the slow downfall of someone you supposedly root for is excruciating, but also satisfying. There was no way I would predict how any of this ended (both the play and the plot itself). I do think things will get better after this. In other news, female rage is a powerful thing and it was made more interesting by the intricate interpersonal relationships Ms. Fitch had with her students and coworkers. I rooted for everyone but also wished for their downfall. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Blood, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Child abuse, Death, and Death of parent

americattt's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

“You want a good show. They all do. A few pretty tears on my cheeks that you can brush away. Just a little bit of ouch so you know there’s someone in there. So you don’t get too scared of me, am I right? So you know I’m still a vulnerable thing. That I can be brought down if need be.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Medical content

Minor: Blood

jenmcreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma

bri_fabiano's review against another edition

dark reflective tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

marissab's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Medical trauma

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Grief

rionstorm's review against another edition

slow-paced

• 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

1.5

I did not like this book.
There were a few nice pieces of writing, like the description of chronic nerve pain as "red webs", but mostly the writing felt clumsy, messy, and melodramatic. It has the feel of an edgy teenager's fanfiction, but not in a good way.
The plot feels very cliche but also doesn't resolve in a way that feels satisfying. It seemed like it was going to go in an interesting direction a few times, but then consistently took the most obvious and least interesting path.
There is also a bunch of weird moral implications? Maybe I'm missing something but the main character really seemed to be portrayed as a bad person for being unwell and angry about it. It was also peppered with fatphobia, and had a similar misogynistic undercurrent to Bunny. 
Also similar to Bunny, the implied experience of madness/psychosis/delusions felt very much how someone without much actual information or sensitivity around the subject would write it. Gave me the vibe of, again, am edgy teenager RPing as a ~crazy~ character. 
Overall disappointing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infertility, Mental illness, and Blood

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

4.75

All’s Well may be one of the weirdest book I have ever read, and I mean that in the best possible way. Any fan’s of the fever dream-esque atmosphere of Bunny will adore this novel, since the stream of consciousness writing amplified the feeling.
For any fans of character studies, Shakespeare, and darker stories, I would 100000% recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

dearbhlanoonan'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent

readwithbells's review against another edition

5.0

What a vicious, chaotic book that I loved. It absolutely lulled me into a false sense of security for the first half and I forgot it’s also a horror from Mona Awad’s bizarre brain and it got dark. But where Bunny didn’t stick the landing for me, this absolutely did. I think it’s an incredible social commentary piece, though the first 100 pages are slow going (though I do think that may have been me trying to read this during finals). The hallucinations at the end get hard to parse from reality but I do believe that’s the point - major Black Swan vibes once we  got deep into the rehearsal process. Either way it can only get 5 stars from me. Twisty and positively bizarre. I adore a woman antihero and want more books like this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug use, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail