Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan

6 reviews

scifi_rat's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Grief, Infidelity, Violence, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Confinement, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Death, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Racism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Child death, Classism, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Religious bigotry, Torture, Abandonment, and Excrement

danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.0

Set against the backdrop of the Japanese occupation of 

Malaysia, a Malaysian woman makes a fateful decision which changes the course of history and the lives of everyone she knows. 

I really enjoyed this book. I tend to love historical fiction that centers fictional characters against the backdrop of world events, and while fictional, 1 always feel like it gives us a glimpse into how this massive world events may have affected real people. This book did not disappoint on this front; in turns towering and intimate, this is a beautiful portrait of shattered promises, family bonds, and the tides of history that hurl themselves at the barriers of safety people try to erect around themselves and their loved ones. 

It is a multi-perspective book, and sometimes 1 tound the switches happening too quickly, just as I would settle into whatever storyline 1 was following in a particular chapter. And I felt some storylines converged at the end better than others. But it was still a really great read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Confinement, Kidnapping, Rape, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, War, Death, Excrement, Infidelity, and Self harm

craftyanty's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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

4.25

This book is a heavy read... lots of triggers warnings needed, but it really is excellent for a debut novel. The characters are well-written, and each of them faces their own personal struggles that come together to make this novel a very emotional read. In fact, this was almost a 5-star rated book for me, but the youngest daughter's character became less believable toward the end. 
 The audiobook narrator, Samantha Tan, was incredible! I will be looking for more books narrated by her to listen to. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Pedophilia, Rape, War, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Confinement, Grief, Infidelity, Classism, Vomit, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Death, and Trafficking

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Addiction, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Child abuse

ailiscr32's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Sexual assault, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, War, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Child death, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs, Bullying, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Racism

okiecozyreader's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Taking place over 10 years, from 1935 to 1945, a mother, Cecily looks back over her choices and her role in bringing the Japanese to colonize over the British in Malaya. 

The time goes back in forth between the end in 1945 then back 9 years, 8 years, etc and at the same time, the viewpoint of her son, who was taken and put in a camp, as well as other viewpoints.

This is a book to read when you can handle a difficult story. As in many WWII books, there isn’t really anything “good” or happy that happens. At the same time, I found myself thinking about these characters when I wasn’t reading the book. 

Many people in the #bookfriendsbookclub really enjoyed the audio for this one - they felt it was well done, so you might consider that if you’re interested in this one. 

“…during a war, the only priority was one’s own family.” Ch 1 Cecily

“Isn’t every man a good man and a bad man?” Ch 2 Cecily

“Distance was a deceiver in that way, lulling her into a sense of stability and security,…” ch 15 Cecily 
…
“She missed being a woman who cared about something, missed being a woman who was more than just an extension of her house and family.” ch 15 Cecily

“—some women just weren’t made for a peaceful life; she was someone who needed the simmering possibility of chaos.”
Ch 17 Cecily 

“When Abel had been taken, their fear and pity had lasted longer. Perhaps it was earlier in the Occupation and people had not yet been cauterized to accept pain as part of existence. Or perhaps, Jujube thought, there was recognition that the first time something like this happened would be the hardest, but subsequent tragedies were supposed to get easier—like a scabbed-over wound that split open—you were already supposed to know how to feel; you did not need the salve of extended sympathy.” Ch 18 Jujube

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Alcohol, Medical content, Abandonment, and Death

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative sad medium-paced

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

3.0

This one didn’t quite work for me. The characters felt one-dimensional and like they were written for the white gaze. I appreciated the setting in WWII Malaya though, which we need more books about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Slavery, Blood, Confinement, Gore, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Racism, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, War, and Vomit