Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

414 reviews

puckeverlasting's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

The perfect blend of hopeful and nihilistic and celebratory of the game of life. Characters felt very human. Prose was eloquent but not in a way that came across as pretentious. Varying narrative styles kept things interesting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, and Gun violence

meggiecronin's review

challenging emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Gun violence, Car accident, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexism, Death of parent, Grief, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Death

Minor: Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Cancer, Mental illness, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Abortion, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, and Eating disorder

ragoreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Death of parent, Car accident, and Homophobia

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Cancer and Eating disorder

aoi_'s review

emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Mass/school shootings, and Misogyny

Minor: Abortion and Sexual content

meglic's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Gun violence, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Abortion, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, Cancer, Sexual violence, and Domestic abuse

montsett's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Medical content, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Grief

Moderate: Gun violence and Car accident

Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy, Suicide, Murder, Sexual content, and Blood

stephmcoakley's review

adventurous challenging emotional fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Blood, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Ableism, Cancer, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, and Death of parent

thebluntbibliophile's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

I think this book shattered my heart in more ways, places and times than I knew possible.

None of the characters (besides Marx) were loveable to me, but that's actually part of the reason why this book is so good? There are no main characters who are over-powered and without flaws. All of them, even Marx my boy, have their quirks; their strengths and weaknesses. Each character feels so imperfectly human.

In a story that spans over decades, their relationships twist and turn accordingly. At no point are they stagnant, and the pacing of the novel shifts appropriately so as not to drag out needlessly. Above all, I love that there is no 'forgive and forget' denouement - Zevin seems to appreciate that a bridge takes a lot longer to build than to burn.

To be loved is to be changed.

Sometimes that change cannot be undone, like a piece of paper that has been written on, and scrunched up. You can flatten it out again, and try to scrub away the words, but it will never be wholly unmarked again. And that is alright.

This book says that it's okay to be changed, and to allow yourself to change. It speaks poignantly of maturity, emotionally and physically, and I don't think I could love a message more.

No, I don't agree with some of the characters' actions, and would probably take a different approach. But that's just it, we're all individual characters. Individual minds. Full of individual approaches and individual dreams and individual fears. The protagonists in Tomorrow can't rewind the clock like their in-game characters can, they can't cheat death. All they can do is try their best given their current hand. Just like us.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Chronic illness, and Suicide

Minor: Cancer

ceejcook's review

emotional funny informative 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Gun violence, and Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Terminal illness

Minor: Mental illness

esme_may's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Hate crime, Homophobia, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Cancer, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Sexism, Classism, Mental illness, and Terminal illness

Minor: Drug use