Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Under the Magnolias

Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Under the Magnolias by T.I. Lowe

10 reviews

brittanyisbooked's review

challenging hopeful tense slow-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

3.75

This book was excellent story telling. Lowe did a great job bringing characters to life and narrating Southern fiction. This book made me interested in reading her other works

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wildroseoftexas's review

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emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.0

This was a beautiful book. The emotions and struggles portrayed when one has a family member with severe mental illness was written so well.

I took a star down because the blurb makes it seem like the main storyline would be the love interest and it’s not. Honestly, the love interest storyline felt almost filler and not explained well early on. It could’ve easily been left out and just left the full focus on the family. I would immediately move this to a 5 star rating.

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proudtobeabookaholic's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-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

When Austin is 14 years old her mother dies in childbirth. With six younger siblings and a father who sometimes falls victim to his own personal darkness, it's Austin who has to become the adult in the house. The family tobacco farm also needs tending and she's not sure how long she will be able to keep up. But when help is offered Austin is still reluctant to accept it, because it will mean the truth she's been working so hard to hide will be revealed.

I've been wanting to read this book since it was released in Swedish and I first heard about it. When it was my time to choose a book for my book club I took my chance! It's been compared to "Where the Crawdads Sing", and although there are differences, there are also similarities, and I believe if you liked the former you will like this as well.

"Under the Magnolias" is a gripping childhood upbringing about losing both your parents: one suddenly and unexpectedly in childbirth and the other slowly in mental illness. But we also get sibling love, friendship and tentative love. Wonderful side characters who make a lasting impression. How hard it can be to ask for help, but also how much easier life can become if you dare to accept it.

The book is set in the American south during the 80's, and perfectly narrated by Susan Bennett. The author describes the environment in a way that makes you BE there, with the characters. She makes you feel with and for the characters, and it's an emotional book in many ways. I really look forward to discussing the book with my book club next week!

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addiemiller's review

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emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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cassiereadsbooks_'s review

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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? No

4.0

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craftyanty's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book was simultaneously simple and complex. It's a coming-of-age story, but it's so much more than that.
The story follows Austin Foster through her teens and twenties as she grows up on a tobacco farm caring for and protecting her younger siblings after her mother's death. Her father, the local pastor, secretly struggles with mental illness, and Austin becomes his caretaker and protector as well. As time goes by, the cracks caused by the family's trauma begin to become undeniable as Austin and her siblings struggle to thrive.

When I started this book, I was immediately invested in the main character, but it didn't take long to realize there wasn't one character I wasn't invested in, and when I wasn't listening to this audiobook, I couldn't wait to get back to it.

Sadly, there was one small thing that annoyed me about this book. It was very easily overlooked and didn't affect the story at all, but I still feel the need to get it off of my chest. The author threw in SO many 80s pop culture references, but I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why there were so many. Some were well-placed references, that acted as subtle reminders that the story was taking place in the 80s (lacy jelly shoes, teased bangs, and banana clips), but others were noticeable and distracting, almost gimmicky and awkward (Chaka Khan, Cyndi Lauper, Sister Sledge and others). This may have just been a personal taste, though. Regardless, I know I'll be recommending this book to friends.

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kaci422's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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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wherethewildreadsare's review

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emotional medium-paced

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

4.75

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reading_ladies_blog's review

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sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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in_love_with_bookish's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.0

Under the Magnolias have a lot of elements that I love in books and Yet I struggled with the story every step of the way until I couldn't do it anymore. I’m really sad that this is a DNF for me but I just know when it’s not working.

I quit this story at the mark of 47% so I pushed through as much as I could. I tried and kept trying but it came to a point when I know that I’ll get in a reading slump if I force myself to continue.

To be honest, the premise is brilliant and captivating. This is historical fiction, a genre I adore and It’s also a coming of age story and a family drama with depiction of struggles, loss, grief, and mental illness, and the complexity of family relationships. It has a lot of elements to portray and to intertwine together and I think if it wasn’t just so boring I would’ve loved it.

I’m sorry but Under the Magnolias was a snoozefest. I tried to care about the plot and I failed. I couldn’t keep a lot of the characters straight in my head and Every time, the story reaches an interesting point or an emotional height, It skips ahead in time and I lose the connection I started to feel or the potential I started to glimpse. It was definitely abrupt and left me feeling cold.

I totally understand why many people are loving and praising this book but It just wasn’t for me. I think other books did this story better and I think some of the narrative choices kept from really getting invested. I may check out the author’s other books because I actually enjoyed the writing but this is where I break up with this particular book.

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