Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

51 reviews

sassacass11's review

emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book took me by surprise and surpassed every expectation I had for it. It invited you in for tea and just when you settle in, fairy lights flickered on, and new part of the story appears to redirect the story. Exquisitely written! 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction and Death

meridianriver's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction and Child abuse

queencariad's review

emotional hopeful reflective 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 of parent, Addiction, and Child abuse

themorethatyouread's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Child abuse, Abandonment, Grief, and Incest

Minor: Addiction

mayaep's review

lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

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

4.0

fun character study book- the plot picks up towards the end 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Mental illness

Minor: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, Stalking, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

eliya's review

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

I spent 9h 47m reading this book. 

The whole time I was reading I was trying to figure out what this book was going to be. There was so much backstory and set up, it seemed, that I wasn’t sure when the book, or “real” story, would begin. It caught me off guard when I realized the point of the book, and it was kind of relaxing. This isn’t a particularly exciting book or anything, this is a very healing book. 

I just lost my father about two months ago and it’s been hard to let go. I’m glad I read this book when I did. 

Now, the actual book was weird. The point was lovely— there was a very odd antihomelessness theme throughout the book. The island that they live on has heavy patrols for people sleeping anywhere but inside a house & none of the characters bay an eye about it. The author tries to do this like “I remember poverty… it was rough” thing with a couple of the characters and it doesn’t land, it just reads as empty, really. I think she could have dived deeper and given detail instead of vague “what was probably abuse” description. 

I feel bad for Lizbeth honestly. I think she and Lucy should have had a larger part of the story. You have Lizbeth and her diaries and we’re waiting for this big ball to drop (no pun intended) at the end when someone finally reads her diaries, but it, again, falls flat on delivery. 

I’m glad the loose ends were tied up, but the package was a lot smaller than it made itself out to be.

Cute book, glad I read it, good for grief. Nice to fat people and not weird about weight lol.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Violence, Addiction, Death of parent, Stalking, Forced institutionalization, Death, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Racism, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Classism, Pregnancy, and Emotional abuse

sharkgirl45's review

emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Addiction, Grief, Mental illness, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

gem114's review

emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

5.0

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me. I read it for my book club, though, and the other reviews were mixed. If you’re a lover of magical realism, birds, and chosen family storylines, I think you should give this book a shot. I loved the whimsy of the dellawisps, the “ghost stories,” and the overall vibe of the setting as well. I also shed a few tears, and I love a book that can evoke that much emotion in me. The biggest criticism was that some of the “twists” were unnecessary or forced, and in hindsight I can see that view, but they weren’t egregious enough to distract from my enjoyment while reading.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, and Death

redbirdreading's review

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Drug use, Addiction, Death of parent, Death, and Toxic relationship

afriendwithfiction's review

mysterious reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Religious bigotry