Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Sisters by Daisy Johnson

21 reviews

bookmaddie's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Grief, and Emotional abuse

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.0

 
I picked up Sisters because Daisy Johnson is one of the ten nominees for the Women’s Prize x Good Housekeeping Futures Award.
It is an eerie atmospheric read with more than a touch of horror, centred around an unhealthy relationship between September and July, two teenage sisters who are practically twins. Something has recently happened which has caused a big upheaval in their life, causing them to flee to an isolated family home near the coast. Their mother Sheela is not fully present, depression often confining her to her bed. The way the story unfolds is frustrating - deliberately so, obfuscating information which the reader desperately wants to know. It’s fragmentary in nature, moving back and forward in time, revealing that July and September’s isn’t the only unhealthy relationship in the family. By the time the truth about what happened to cause the family’s move is revealed I wasn’t surprised, having already suspected as much. This isn’t a slight on the book at all, more a sign that the twist was not one of those totally out-of-left field ones which I can find a bit irritating. This books is a powerful exploration of memory, inheritance, love and power. It does a great job of capturing some of the essence of the teenage experience. I especially enjoyed the author’s way with words and the atmosphere she was able to create. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Grief

anniefwrites's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

Truly bone-chilling. Johnson created such a claustrophobic, vivid world and deeply twisted characters to inhabit it. This one will stick with me for a while. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcohol, Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing and Pregnancy

erindoesdesign's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Abandonment, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Blood, Child death, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Toxic relationship

solenekeleroux's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Death, Bullying, Body horror, Physical abuse, and Grief

amandasharabooks's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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? N/A

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Alcohol

beckyjc's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I read this book in one sitting. It starts fairly slowly but the pace really picks up as the novel progresses - or perhaps it just felt that way as I became more intrigued by the revelations that build. This is a twisty plot, influenced by macabre folktale and a taste for the sinister and unnerving. 

The relationship between the two sisters is an unusual one and I found some of the passages uncomfortable to read. The (just about) older sister's treatment of the younger sister is by turns protective, joyful, claustrophobic, toxic, strange. Childish games are tinged with violence and unpredictability. The mother figure is effectively shut out of their world, leaving a sense of unsafe space where harm lurks at unexpected turns. 

July, the youngest sister - whose viewpoint we see the plot through - seems to experience similar uncertainty about September, sometimes grateful and desperate for September's attention, and sometimes frightened and stifled by it.

About halfway through the book, as the action escalates in weirdness, I wondered if July and September were the same girl. If the reason we don't hear September's voice directly is because she doesn't exist, but is some kind of projection or fantasy that a nervous and unpopular child has created. Though I was wrong, I think this shows how Johnson does a good job of slowly alerting the reader to the fact that something isn't right. There is tension and absence running through the writing.

The coastal setting, and the dilapidated house they occupy, add to the atmosphere of loss and danger, devoid of any real comfort - physical or emotional. 

The ending did make me sad. After suggesting July could have had an independent and fulfilling life without September, we see that she in fact honours a pact she made with September that only September should survive if they cannot both survive. It's disturbing and alarming, and leaves the novel on a mysterious note. What does this mean in reality? Will July now emulate September for good as she had been doing as a coping mechanism in grief? There's a vague body-snatching feel to this conclusion that made me shudder!

I would read more by Johnson on the basis of Sisters. Brooding, insular and mysterious - don't read this if you want something light-hearted. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Toxic relationship

bitesizedbeet's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book is a hard one for me to review, but I will say to prepare yourself mentally because it’s dark and emotional.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death and Grief

Minor: Self harm, Blood, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

emptychurches's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Sexual assault

Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Self harm, Sexual content, and Vomit

laurenparham's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death of parent