Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

55 reviews

roseamillerg's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

mitzireads's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

alostbookworm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

The biggest struggle I had with this book was that I felt no desire to pick it up! The protagonist/s were whiny, annoying and very difficult to feel sympathy for. The story was slow and clunky, the writing felt a little childish. But what I loved about this book and the only reason I DID push through this book was how gripping it was! The plot and concept of the novel was incredible and made it difficult to put down! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Violence

adriennne's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Fatphobia, and Grief

katsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

"...the holes in your life are permanent. You have to grow around them, like tree roots around concrete; you mold yourself through the gaps.”

“There’s nothing so painful, so corrosive, as suspicion.”

Usually I really don't like books with unlikable characters. I disliked Gone Girl and really hated We Need to Talk About Kevin, however, I somehow found myself rooting for Rachel. I think, perhaps, it's less that I don't enjoy unlikable characters as much as a I don't enjoy outrightly mean/selfish characters. I didn't like Rachel as a character but I found myself pitying her much more than disliking her and ultimately, I wanted her to figure out the who-dun-it and move on with her life. Speaking of the who-dun-it, I figured out the ending about half of the way through. However, I read this back when it came out about 6 years ago but I forgot almost everything. So I can't decide if I figured it out because I vaguely remembered the plot or because of the writing itself. Either way, I bumped up my rating to a 4 star from a 3.5 for that reason. It didn't seem fair to rate a book less because I had already read it. Overall, I think this book is a bit formulaic but really engaging. It's a solid thriller and I would recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Confinement and Cursing

Minor: Body shaming, Car accident, Fatphobia, and Pregnancy