Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange

14 reviews

dirrtydeenyul's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

kimveach's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing sad tense 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

Tracey Lange always masterfully creates real characters who deal with complex issues. She does it again with "What Happened to the McCrays?"  Her depiction of small-town life in upstate New York feels authentic. I loved all the characters, not just the couple. This book made me laugh out loud and cry.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

jclanders's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Self harm, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

m_a_j's review

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Infertility, Self harm, and Medical content

Minor: Abandonment and Alcohol

afrenette's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Infertility, Grief, and Car accident

confessionsofabookaddict's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Infertility

kdinsmore's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

Graphic: Self harm, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Infertility

marym2215's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? Yes

5.0

Set against the backdrop of a small-town community, What Happened to the McCrays? explores the power of resilience, family bonds, and second chances. When Kyle McCray returns to his hometown after his father’s stroke, he’s met with resentment and lingering hurt from those he abandoned several years ago, including his estranged wife, Casey. Determined to stay only long enough to help his father recover, Kyle instead finds himself drawn back into the town’s life when he is asked to coach the struggling middle school hockey team. As he reconnects with the community and confronts the pain of his past, Kyle is forced to reckon with the choices that tore his marriage apart and determine if healing and redemption are still within reach. Full of heart and raw emotion, this story captures the complexity of broken relationships and the enduring hope for forgiveness and redemption. 

I absolutely devoured this story. Told from alternating perspectives of Kyle and Casey in both the present day as well as the past, What Happened to the McCrays was an incredible book for so many different reasons. It pulled me into its raw, emotional depths from the very first page. The struggles Kyle and Casey faced in forgiving themselves for the choices they each made were so heart-wrenching and felt so real. Their pain could be felt through the pages and reminded me how difficult it can be to confront the worst parts of our past. The way the story captured the fragile, yet powerful, bonds of family and the strength that comes from a supportive community left a lasting impression on me. I was especially moved by the depiction of loss - the debilitating pain of watching a loved one suffer, and the quiet resilience needed to move forward. It’s a story about second chances and the heavy cost of redemption and how healing requires both courage and vulnerability. While there were instances that I found myself frustrated by choices that Casey made, I cannot fault her for her decisions knowing what she was going through by the end of the book. This is my first book by Tracey Lange but it will most definitely not be my last. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a moving story about love, loss, and forgiveness. 

Content warnings: Loss of a child, suicide attempt, loss of a parent, depression, infertility, self harm

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read to an ARC of What Happened to the McCrays in return for my honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Infertility

dblue236's review

emotional reflective sad slow-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

3.0

Tracey Lange's writing is beautiful, but so much of this book felt like much ado about... well, not nothing, but very little. Almost all of the conflict could have been resolved if these two people who claimed to know each other so well would have just communicated instead of constantly running away from each other and avoiding talking about difficult subjects. I suppose that was probably the point, but I had a hard time staying interested despite the fact that the author is a skilled writer. Overall this wasn't a terrible book, and maybe it was just a matter of personal taste, but I was very ready to be done with it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death, Death, Infertility, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content and Blood

iamnita's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective relaxing 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? Yes

4.0

This book is gut wrenching and the way this author can layer people so effectively makes me just swoon. This is slice of life in the best possible way. With some deeply human experiences.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Child death, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Eating disorder, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Beware of triggers for this book :) there are a few.