Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

411 reviews

hannahe_ken's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide

sadie_g's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This is an absolutely devastating read. The story is about the culture of silence in small towns and how this can affect everything in a community after a tragedy. 

Backman is truly an amazing writer. The way he strings words together is so beautiful, and the simplest sentences hit me the hardest. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence

gesalauren's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism

arikrp's review against another edition

5.0

emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence

Moderate: Child death, Death

katies_bibliotherapy's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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

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Another book I tried reading physically and then the audiobook ended up being the way to go. It feels strange to rate this book five stars given the heavy themes and topics it tackles, but it was told in such a lyrical way that it feels wrong to rate it any less than five stars. It was an unputdownable story and I listened to the entire audiobook in one sitting. The characters' actions and decisions gave me such strong feelings that I had physical reactions as I was listening. I loved how the book portrayed and explored the loyalty, devotion, and bond within sports teams. Backman's ability to elicit such strong emotions and feelings for his characters speaks to his talent for writing. I'm glad I still have my copy so I can go back and annotate one day. Highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Grief

lau_library's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This was a little hard to read but beautifully written. You feel everything Fredrick Backman writes viscerally. His characters are all deeply flawed yet it’s easy to understand why they make the decisions they do. I know this is part of a series but it also could be a stand alone novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Medical content, Outing, Dysphoria

mern188's review against another edition

4.75

challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief

meikamae's review against another edition

5.0

emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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This book starts a bit slow and there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but stick with it because the buildup is essential to the story. I cried so many times reading this, and as a mom the theme of being unable to protect our kids was especially difficult, but the characters are so well written and believable in their complexity.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Homophobia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence

erineliza_books's review against another edition

5.0

emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Misogyny

Minor: Child death, Drug use

sarasreading's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I really enjoyed how all the characters in this were written. There were a lot of them, but I never felt lost or confused because they all felt distinct and unique. Having lived in a smaller city where a similar event happened and I heard many people's opinions, this story is sadly true to life. The book wrapped up pretty well which surprised me, considering it's a three book series. I'm interested to see what the next one is about.

Be aware, rape is a central plot point in this book, and while it isn't intensely detailed, it does happen on the page and is upsetting to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Homophobia