Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

139 reviews

stacy837's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Child death, and Animal death

Moderate: Cursing and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Suicide

saskiahill's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Grief, Animal death, Addiction, Suicide, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Death

sashammerk's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Abandonment, Child death, Cancer, Grief, Death, and Drug abuse

Minor: Suicide attempt

battysbooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Grief

Minor: Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Cancer

kaylahcc's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Cancer and Addiction

baearles's review against another edition

emotional funny 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Cursing, Child death, and Death

Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, Addiction, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Animal death, and Terminal illness

zombiewilhelm's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

5.0

 Y'all this made me cry real tears. I don't know why. It wasn't even until the last 30-50 pages where I was just like 😭. If you can make me cry, instant 5 stars. Haha.

But seriously, I felt like the characters in this book were different than other books I've read recently. One is Marcellus, the octopus, and he's my favorite of the four POVs. I love him and his entire persona. Apparently, he's the smartest octopus to ever exist, but he doesn't quite understand human idioms.

I love seeing older characters. I'm overwhelmed with teenagers and 20-somethings. Give me the grandmas! 😂 These characters felt so real. Tova is a very particular sort of lady, but she's great. She's kind of a no-nonsense woman who prefers things her way. Don't let her fool you, she has a sense of humor. I loved watching her grow.

I love these kinds of stories. Stories where you have all these characters that are not connected in the beginning. I love seeing them progress and watching their stories intertwine. While the ending was predictable, it was immensely enjoyable. The writing was really well done and I was so invested in their stories, hence the crying. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Cancer, Grief, and Cursing

heyitslindsay's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Grief, and Abandonment

oxfordcommas91's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

I wanted to love this one more than I did. I think it has all the right ingredients, but didn’t quite feel like it ever hit its stride in the way I hoped it would. The relationships weren’t fleshed out enough (why is Tova incessantly annoyed with her best friends? Why is Ethan so hopelessly in love with Tova?) and I found I wasn’t as connected to the characters as I wanted to be. As the author introduces the characters, I found it rather easy to put the pieces together of the puzzle which took away from some of the satisfaction I’d the “big reveal” at the end. 
I love octopuses and wish that the author had held back just slightly - the fact that Marcellus can read and understand English was one step too far for me. Otherwise, Marcellus’ chapters were my favorite of the book. Marcellus and his snarky (yet insightful) observations about humankind kept the book on track and added to its charm.
For whatever downsides, the book does (finally) build to a satisfying conclusion and the puzzle pieces click into place. Marcellus and his friends of the human persuasion are all deeply flawed but charming characters that you find yourself rooting for. A nice “warm” read read will leave you feeling hopeful about the world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Child death

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty

cicip's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction and Child death

Minor: Cancer