Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

9 reviews

nikrib's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Classism, Sexual content, Death of parent, Bullying, and Child death

jrow's review against another edition

hopeful 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content

Minor: Stalking, Grief, Colonisation, Bullying, Vomit, and Abandonment

sabs98's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is beautifully written telling of a woman’s journey to establish her independence as she navigates the complex implications of events that force her to change course and redefines what freedom means to her. Author Joshi writes with remarkable prose, expressing intricately and concisely all that needs to be said about the complex hardships and injustices her characters face. She also describes herbal medicine and knowledge of plants medicinal properties with measured expertise. The characters feel real because of their flawed nature, the mistakes they make, and the way they reflect on or indirectly acknowledge those mistakes. I am beyond excited to dive into book 2 of this series!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Classism, Abandonment, Blood, Infertility, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

sedgewren's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.75

A heartwarming, dynamic story with believably flawed and sympathetic characters that are entwined in India's deep culture and caste hierarchy. The audiobook was narrated and produced beautifully. All the loose ends were neatly tied up, which was satisfying but I found it slightly too neat. Malek and the parakeet were my favourite characters, and I greatly enjoyed the vibrant depictions of Rajasthani traditions and society.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Misogyny, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, and Bullying

kw05's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Transphobia

spongebobbiii's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Infertility, and Child death

Moderate: Bullying

reddeddy's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, Abortion, Child abuse, Child death, and Classism

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Colonisation, Death of parent, Drug use, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Violence, Xenophobia, Bullying, and Cursing

Minor: Ableism, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Islamophobia, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

house_of_hannah's review

hopeful sad slow-paced

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

2.5

This is June's choice for the local book club I'm in. I was quite interested in it based on the description, but wow is this book slow paced. Not a lot happens until the climax of the story, and even that is pretty short lived. 

I was alright with this at first though. I found the first third of the book to be fascinating as I learned about henna, the caste system of India, and their everyday lives. I rather liked the main character, Lakshmi, so it was interesting to see how she survived after running away as a teenager. 

However, her 13 year old sister, Radha, changed a lot on how I feel about this book. At first she was a very sympathetic character. She had lost her parents, discovered her long-lost sister, and had nothing to her name. She quickly starts acting like a spoiled brat though, and no matter what Lakshmi sacrifices it isn't good enough for her. I was so annoyed at how this selfish child, who wanted to act like an adult, was causing so many problems that I just couldn't enjoy the book anymore. 

The writing style is very descriptive and vibrant. This was ok for the first half of the book, but by the end I was a bit bored, and found myself skimming over the excessive descriptions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Infertility, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Misogyny, and Grief

Minor: Bullying and Sexual assault

barefootamy's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

I don't understand the use of Western herbalism in this story when folkloric Indian herbalism would have been traditional to the area and culture. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Miscarriage, and Misogyny