Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

17 reviews

sloanemontesi's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Absolutely tore through this one. Listened voraciously to this audiobook in a matter of 3 days. Big fan of a “prequel-to-a-classic” premise anyway, and Isobel was an extremely easy character to root for. Very well-written and consistently engaging. Took a little bit to hook me, but once it did, i was IN. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Slavery, Abortion, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

nataliecoyne's review

emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.25

I honestly feel a little bad about only giving this 3.25 stars, because the final few chapters were very interesting

(with everything about how multiple characters were helping runaway slaves).

Unfortunately, though, I found most of this book to be boring. I did push myself through it quite fast, but it was largely so that I could move on to something else. Admittedly, though, I've never actually read The Scarlet Letter so maybe, if I had, this would've been more interesting to me and I could've picked up on some "easter eggs" of sorts that I didn't know were meant to be easter eggs/references until much later in the book when they're directly addressed (for example, the visit to the graveyard). I probably even missed more because there were probably ones that weren't directly addressed.

Probably reading the original source material should be prioritized when picking up a retelling, but I recently enjoyed a different retelling (James) without ever having read the original source material (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) so I thought I'd be fine. Plus, from how I read the book description, this wasn't fully a retelling, but more of a behind-the-scenes of the inspiration of the book type thing.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling. Essentially I just don't think this book was for me. I wouldn't necessarily dissuade others from reading it, though, especially if you've read and enjoyed The Scarlet Letter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Abortion, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Colonisation

cdnpittsburgher's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

I liked the narrator in the audio version of this book. When narrating as Isobel, she was incredible and truly embodied the character. 

I disliked the men in Isobel's tale as much as I detested the men in the OG Scarlet Letter that was required reading in Gr 11 American Lit. Selfish humans disguised as upstanding citizens certainly is a relatable experience, and women pay the price. 

There was a lot of information about "The Salem Deception" that killed 19 people.  As well, the rudiments of the North American Atlantic slave trade is presented and an introduction to the the Underground Railroad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Classism

prairieraven's review

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

cpardub's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

I listened to Hester as an audiobook and HIGHLY RECOMMEND. It was such a fun listen. I really enjoyed this book and have been recommending it to others all week since finishing it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content and Forced institutionalization

daydaybookbay's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.5

I rated this book a 9 out of 10. I really enjoyed the blast to the past, reminding me of The Scarlet Letter and the Salem Witch Trials. Having the history woven into the fictional storyline makes it feel more real. It is clear so much research was put into the writing of this story.

The way Isobel's Synesthesia was written really captured me. This beautiful visual that she learns to embrace privately. With such an experience many people today can not fully understand, it hurts to know Isobel was practically afraid of herself.

My favorite parts to read were the scenes Isobel was sewing, All the details of the dresses and clothing and the descriptions of embroidery in the gloves created the images in my mind. I love it. So much description went into it, but it felt light like music.

While we watch Isobel grow, we see the women supporting women every step of the way. Nell and Mercy take different approaches to help Isobel, but both women warm my heart.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and War

mels_reading_log's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

“It’s not that we are witches or faeries or that we deny God. It is that we are more beautiful and strong together than apart.”  Men are scared of things they don’t understand. During the Witch Trials they hunted and murdered anyone who was different or skilled in a way they were ignorant to, all the while standing behind God as if He would endorse such foolishness. This story is the fictional story of the real Hester Prynne of the Scarlet Letter. I loved the strength, grit and determination of the outcast characters. They saw who they could trust and stuck together. This was such a good book!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

laurenlee2158's review

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

spineofthesaurus's review

adventurous dark emotional

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Incest, Excrement, Vomit, and Medical content

captainmarcy's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Slavery, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism