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Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'
I Have Some Questions for You: A Novel by Rebecca Makkai
195 reviews
mmackay375's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.75
Started strong and I couldn't put it down. It has a lot of specific themes its trying to explore and i think it really did explore it, without much settling. I don't think I mind that, because there doesn't seem to be a right answer, but the ending started getting a little muddled. The tension in the third part left, making the book flounder a little.
Overall, really enjoyed it, and it's time period, and a lot of the themes and conversations it brings up. The narration style was fun and inventive for a true crime/ thriller book.
Overall, really enjoyed it, and it's time period, and a lot of the themes and conversations it brings up. The narration style was fun and inventive for a true crime/ thriller book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Misogyny, Sexism, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Eating disorder, Suicide, and Death of parent
hazelgirl21's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer
jdanker's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
t0r0_p's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
A fairly slow read although you have to keep reading because you definitely want to know what happens. A realistic and depressing book that reflects a lot on society, relationships, and the justice system.
In the end you never get any real answers and although realistic, the very depressing ending that the innocent does not receive justice is hard to swallow after all of the depressing elements of the story have unfolded. In the end there really is no wins.
In the end you never get any real answers and although realistic, the very depressing ending that the innocent does not receive justice is hard to swallow after all of the depressing elements of the story have unfolded. In the end there really is no wins.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Violence, and Murder
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
I really enjoyed the writing style of this book where the narrator is addressing the possible killer directly throughout while telling the story of how events in the past and present unfolded. The story was a bit predictable but it took you on a wild ride before it got back to the obvious resolution, which was entertaining. The characters are loveable even though I’m not convinced they’re supposed to be. The plot was definitely believable as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
sandro_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Perhaps my expectations were too high given my love of Makkai’s The Great Believers but, Questions felt like it was trying too hard.
Bodie returns to her boarding school 20 years after the murder of her former roommate, Thalia, and, together with her students, creates a podcast examining if the right man was convicted.
Part One was filled with so many characters across two timelines it was hard to keep track of who was who. And, there was the odd choice of having the book told in the first person but as if Bodie was talking to one of the suspects - which added to the confusion.
Questions tackles memory, true crime obsession, the justice system, cancel culture, #metoo, racism - the list goes on - which is the problem: it felt forced and took focus away from the core story.
Bodie returns to her boarding school 20 years after the murder of her former roommate, Thalia, and, together with her students, creates a podcast examining if the right man was convicted.
Part One was filled with so many characters across two timelines it was hard to keep track of who was who. And, there was the odd choice of having the book told in the first person but as if Bodie was talking to one of the suspects - which added to the confusion.
Questions tackles memory, true crime obsession, the justice system, cancel culture, #metoo, racism - the list goes on - which is the problem: it felt forced and took focus away from the core story.
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment
juwlie's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
ETA: After reading more reviews, I understand that a ton of the criticisms and reasons that people disliked this book was because of how it was marketed. I wasn't aware of the hype surrounding it, I had just seen the description and checked it out from the library because the premise seemed interesting. If I had gone into this with the expectation that it was a highly-anticipated thriller with deep social commentary, I would have been massively disappointed. It's a good mystery, but it's not a thriller, and there's nothing remarkable about it imo. I still enjoyed it!! But it would have been a very different experience if I had gone into with the same expectations that (it seems) most readers had.
I was slightly apprehensive about this book because of some of the reviews, but I ended up really enjoying it. I listened to the audiobook and blew through it in two days, partially because Julia Whelan is a fantastic narrator. There was nothing in particular that really wowed me about this read, but I was still very interested in the plot and I was super curious about how it would unfold. I understand that this isn't for everyone, though; if you were looking for a thriller and picked this up, I could understand your disappointment. It's definitely a mystery, but not a thriller. I enjoyed the narrative style, how it was addressed to one person but still told this whole story. If it was adapted into a miniseries or something like that, I would definitely watch it; but I wouldn't put this on any pedestals for being the best mystery book ever, which is where I believe a lot of the negative reviews come from. I do think it's possible that this is over-hyped, but I still really enjoyed it.
I was kind of disappointed with the reveal of the killer, but not with the story. I think that we, as the reader, are definitely supposed to believe that the teacher was the killer, so the reveal that it was indeed the boyfriend seemed strange, given that the book is written to DB. However, I understand that 1. it's more about the MC's disgust and disappointment directed at DB for his relationship with Thalia, and 2. sometimes it's literally just like that. Sometimes the perpetrator is the guy that seems obvious, but it isn't. I felt slightly disappointed but I also realized that it's realistic. It's also very realistic that DB's relationship with Thalia is a huge factor in what led to her murder, so even though he didn't do the actual killing, he was part of the whole thing. I was slightly more disappointed that we never actually saw/heard anything from DB by the end of the book. I don't know what I was expecting really, but I assumed there would be some kind of conflict with the MC and DB. The whole story was addressed to him, but what was the context? Did she write this up and send it to him? I was expecting something like "that's how I got here, to your house, to give you this" or something like that. It just seemed like some kind of resolution was missing there. But that still didn't take away from the story enough for it to really bother me.
I was slightly apprehensive about this book because of some of the reviews, but I ended up really enjoying it. I listened to the audiobook and blew through it in two days, partially because Julia Whelan is a fantastic narrator. There was nothing in particular that really wowed me about this read, but I was still very interested in the plot and I was super curious about how it would unfold. I understand that this isn't for everyone, though; if you were looking for a thriller and picked this up, I could understand your disappointment. It's definitely a mystery, but not a thriller. I enjoyed the narrative style, how it was addressed to one person but still told this whole story. If it was adapted into a miniseries or something like that, I would definitely watch it; but I wouldn't put this on any pedestals for being the best mystery book ever, which is where I believe a lot of the negative reviews come from. I do think it's possible that this is over-hyped, but I still really enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Eating disorder
leafy_literature's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I ate this book UP! The ending was unsatisfactory, but realistic. I loved Bodie and how real she was. I liked how we never really "met" Bloch, even though we, as the reader, were him. Fastest read for me in years. Rebecca Makkai knows how to write, and suck you right into it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Infidelity
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Transphobia, Vomit, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and War
erinestes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship