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stargirlmolly's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Grief, Miscarriage, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Classism, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide, Child abuse, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Ableism
Minor: War and Violence
sarahflanders's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Blood, Classism, Death, Grief, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Gore, Miscarriage, Vomit, Child death, and Child abuse
jovienna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I picked this book up after a reading a novel I very much HATED. pretty much anything that I would read afterwards was golden in comparison because my standards had gone LOOOOOWWW.
I really liked the main character, Julia Powers, a 30 year old nurse living with her brother, Tim.
Julia’s an incredibly resilient character, and that must come from her 8 years of nursing experience. The way she powers through and commits to her patients, putting them before herself —damn !! good for u girl
However, as many pandemic-themed works, The Pull Of The Stars lacks conflict. There is barely any tension apart from dangers of the Great Flu—including the romantic attraction between Julia and Bridie! Their dialogue feels natural, mind you, and I found myself completely immersed within scenes of action and high emotion, I found it hard to connect with the characters and their interactions because I didn’t feel like I was supposed to CARE about them.
The Pull Of The Stars was a great book, and I breezed through it within a matter of hours. But overall I felt like it had a lot of potential to go further in depth about certain characters and their relationships in the novel — particularly Tim! I simply feel like there’s so much about him that (for lack of a better word) goes unsaid. His role in the novel as a reminder of the toll that war has on those who fought was SO interesting to me especially because of how it demonstrated the impact that war had on soldiers when they returned home to their families to resume civilian life. And I would’ve loved if the book went further into that. Tim feels like a prop in some ways, just so that Julia can point and go ‘yes we are in a war and that is what happens in war he is an example that is it’ — perhaps it’d make for a more impactful read if there were flashback scenes to before the war, to contrast the past v present and portray a heartbreaking theme of trauma and loss experienced by the characters— both in the context of the pandemic and the first world war. Perhaps I’d feel more engaged with this book if it delved deeper into Julia and Tim’s respective backgrounds—Who were they, before the War? How did Julia react when her brother returned, unable to utter a single word? What can they do to move forward, in a time of drastic change and industrialisation, when their very lives were so shaken by a horrifying World War, followed by an even more brutal pandemic?
Overall, The Pull Of The Stars was an interesting read and I’ll definitely keep it on my list of rereads. I loved the scenes where Julia and Bridie were alone together to banter on their own, and I adored anything to do with Tim because I think he deserves the world. But the lack of conflict and feelings of urgency in this novel is definitely what made me drop this down from a 5 star rating.
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry
eengland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, and Child abuse
wonderforehead's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Medical trauma
Moderate: War
Minor: Physical abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Child abuse
centurylore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Death, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, and Medical content
Moderate: Classism, Blood, Misogyny, and War
Minor: Alcohol and Slavery
clemrain's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Misogyny, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Gore, Violence, War, and Death of parent
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Drug abuse, Excrement, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Rape, and Sexual violence
This shattering story takes place over three strenuous days of a nurse and runner in a maternity ward during the influenza pandemic. It’s a difficult, slow read that dives into the little hours of horrors experienced by the most vulnerable. I don’t really have the words for this book. I had a very vague knowledge of the influenza pandemic. But academic readings don’t do the justice to this tragic period of time. This book does and I think it’s because it’s takes a very small real part of the pandemic and focuses on it. The world is so much more than just the grand scheme of things. I don’t know much about Ireland’s history past the famine most of us are taught about. But of course just like any country, Ireland had its l share of religious trauma. I wanted to scream and yell and cry. The romance was so fleeting but it was impactful. I wish it had been woven into the plot a bit earlier butnikki_h's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Terminal illness and Death
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
aurie1000's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Death, Child death, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
aliciawhatsthestory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Child death
This book contains detailed descriptions of complicated births in the early 1900s, including several deaths resulting from those births. It also includes detailed descriptions of a pandemic and flu related deaths. There are also mild mentions of war and war injuries.