Reviews with content warning for Grief - Bruised

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

jane_underground's review

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emotional fast-paced

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

2.5

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marie0350_'s review

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reflective tense 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? Yes

3.75

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beeskneesreads's review

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funny hopeful informative reflective 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? Yes

5.0

This makes me wish I were surrounded by a community like Daya has. Queer, accepting, dramatic, and amazing. It was really wonderful to see her grow throughout the book, and learn more about roller derby. I just really, really loved this story.

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wonderlandbooks's review

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sad fast-paced

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

3.0

Contemporary is not really my choice genre to read but I will always make an exception for queer stories.

This was an incredibly quick read for me but unfortunately not a exceptional read. I enjoyed reading the parts about Roller Derby, however the main character was just awful and I know she has been through something horrific but it was hard to sympathise with her when she was just plain rude and arrogant.

There was so much diversity within the story with lots of POC and LGBT+ characters which was fantastic to see but they felt a little one dimensional. I would love to have seen a little more of a build up with the romance, it was clear the love interest had a thing Daya but Daya being interested in them was out of nowhere.

The topic of self harm was dealt with well however the end result not so much. Love does not cure Mental Illness and it felt very rushed how everything wrapped up.

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shereadstales's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing for the digital galley of this book.

Daya Wijesinghe uses bruises to feel in control of emotions she’d rather keep tampered down. After her parents death in a car accident she survived, Daya isn’t sure how to be in the world. Skateboarding provides an outlet, and the bruises is produces feel good. When a friend introduces her to the world of Roller Derby, she’s convinced that these bruises will be much bigger, and as a full contact sport, she’ll be able to knock some people around, too. But the sport has rules, and team is at the center of every practice, interaction, and bout. Daya’s been a loner, but she’ll find community she didn’t know she needed and maybe, she’ll find more healthy ways of coping than hurting herself, too.

I devoured this one in just over a day and really enjoyed this book. It was billed as Whip It! meets We Are Okay, and between roller derby, brown girls, and queer folks, I was SOLD. I love the characterization and exploration of trauma and physical pain as an outlet and tool of control. It’s often explored via cutting, but the bruising Daya craves is another way that the trauma manifests itself. I love Daya’s friends, and even though I didn’t like Kat, jammer of Daya’s team all the time, I really appreciated her layers, backstory, and journey to healing as well. She and her sister, Shanti, play big roles in Daya’s life during this coming of age and healing from trauma stage, and they are opposite sides of the same coin, a full representation of the different ways people are strong and how they deal with their emotions.

It’s a deep book, and it’s heavy, too, but it’s full of friendship, roller derby, and heart. I highly recommend it if you’re into queer YA that isn’t quite so white-washed.

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