Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

3 reviews

novella42's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? No

5.0

In some ways, the darkest of the Wayfarer series, but also the most beautiful. The most human. The central themes of this book remind me of Alice Walker's short story, Everyday Use. What do we preserve? What do we carry with us, and why, and how? What matters most when we're grappling with our own mortality and purpose and connection to other people who live like we do, in frail, mortal bodies in fragile, finite spaces?

I agree with some reviews that this book is slower than the others, and that the teenage character can be hard to empathize with because he's struggling with boredom and purpose. But the payoff. For me, the payoff is everything. I cry throughout this book and feel so peaceful at the end. Like I'm a little bit closer to finding my own purpose. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Car accident, Death, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, and Chronic illness

Minor: Death of parent, Deportation, Colonisation, Racism, Sexual content, Genocide, and War

There's a prominent scene in the book that needs a tag but isn't among those content warnings listed. Car accident is technically the closest, and I think it could be triggering for someone who had experienced that. But it's more specific, so I'm putting a slightly more detailed one behind a spoiler.

The opening chapters of the book deal with a large-scale disaster that kills tens of thousands of people. It's handled with the gravity and respect it deserves, at times zoomed away and at times very close and high definition. I think anyone who had lived through a natural or manmade disaster, especially in an urban area, would be deeply affected by these themes. It's very well written and the book follows the mental and emotional healing of several different characters, but it's worth a tag.

foreverinastory's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

I was expecting more of an emotional punch with the ending of this one like I got in A Closed and Common Orbit, but alas I didn't get that here.

Rep: WLW octogenarian couple, achillean male MC, queer-normative world, several alien races.

CWs: Alcohol consumption, death and mass death, drug use, grief, mental illness (PTSD), consensual sexual content. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, and Sexual content

cerilouisereads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual content