Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

63 reviews

chapters_and_pages's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Lisa Jewell is honestly becoming one of my favourite authors!

Then She Was Gone follows Laurel, who’s 15 year old daughter, Ellie, went missing 10 years prior. Throughout the book, we learn about the events that lead up to Ellie’s disappearance, what happened during the 10 years Ellie was gone, Laurel’s discovery of what exactly happened to her daughter. 

I’ll be honest, I pretty much guessed the plot twists within about 100 pages, but that didn’t stop me from loving this book!

My heart broke for Laurel, Ellie and Poppy, as well as the rest of Ellie’s family, and reading a book like this, it reminds you that even those this is a fictional story, there are people out there who have gone through similar things, whether as a direct victim or a loved one of a victim. 

Even though I really enjoyed this book, it felt like a 4 star read for me for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I guessed the plot twists very early one. Secondly, Poppy was written quite unrealistically for a child of her age. I get what the author was trying to do, but it kind of missed the mark for me personally. Thirdly, while I really enjoyed this book, I didn’t enjoy it as much as some of her others. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Confinement, Grief, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Pregnancy

siinoa1's review

emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Mental illness

katdid's review

dark mysterious sad tense 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

3.5

Such a dark story

and you can't help but be glad that Noelle ends up murdered(?) honestly. Ellie's death was so sad and wasteful!

From the three books of hers that I've now read Jewell never really sticks the landing imo -- she does plot-wise but not from a narrative/delivery point of view.

Like here I thought the Floyd chapters sucked if I'm honest and the final note from Ellie wasn't necessary.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Confinement, Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Mental illness

Minor: Animal death and Physical abuse

jennacollier1512's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Grief, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Kidnapping

alymccaskill's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Easily one of my favorite books lately. At no point did I have a prediction for how something was going to pan out, which is exactly the kind of book I like to read. It’s painfully real and emotionally jarring. Lisa KNOWS how to write a villain the way real life does, like a regular person. You will go through all the stages of grief, yet love every minute of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Sexual violence

crowray's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

i loved the twists in this book i hate when i can guess but a few of them really caught me by surprise. the characters felt fleshed out and human and the emotion and writing was brill. didn’t feel very tense apart from towards the end but that’s really the only thing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Grief, Animal death, Blood, Murder, Death, Gore, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Violence, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infertility, Physical abuse, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Mental illness

theycallmerash's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Murder, Abandonment, Miscarriage, Stalking, Suicide, Confinement, Mental illness, Child abuse, and Pregnancy

Minor: Death of parent

saintsunflower's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Suicide, Pregnancy, Rape, Kidnapping, Child death, Murder, Stalking, Torture, and Mental illness

avaa_reads's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pregnancy, Stalking, Torture, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Rape, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Child death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping

norwegianforestreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Abandonment, Animal death, Car accident, Child abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Alcohol, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Murder, Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, and Pregnancy