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jodar's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
The novel explores the themes of religion versus superstition, religion versus reason, friendship and love, the role of women in society and child-adult relationships. I particularly appreciated the author’s knowledgeable and nuanced portrayal of Christian life and its tensions, avoiding any of the silly stereotyping that seems to crop up so often in recent UK novels.
The characters all felt real to me: We see both their capabilities and their flaws; so too their as-often-as-not troubled relationships, in which people can care deeply for each other and yet differ strongly in their opinions and outlook on life.
Many things of heart and mind to ponder on.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Medical content
Moderate: Infidelity and Suicide attempt
lauramcc7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Grief, and Infidelity
Minor: Sexual content
turning_every_paige's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Domestic abuse
innerweststreetlibrarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Medical trauma and Medical content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse and Infidelity
rieviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Unfortunately, I did not care much about the two main characters and their relationship and I was more intrested in the various side characters, their portrayal and plot lines. Also, on various occasions, the
choices and actions made by the characters left me very perplexed and just felt a bit out of place.
Overall, I quite appreciated the writing stlye/prose, although there were some segments where the author narrated in a sort of sequence each characters' progress within the story and those parts I found a bit dragging.
Also, I didn't particularly enjoy the detailed description of injuries and medical procedures, maybe they seem quite tame for many people but I am squeamish and so I found it really difficult to go through those parts.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Medical content
Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Body shaming, and Sexual violence
maddiehansen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Blood, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
elzibub's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Ableism
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Dementia, Grief, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Medical trauma
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt