Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

7 reviews

justagir1's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship

Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Medical content, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship

Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

coolfoolmoon's review against another edition

2.75

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Over a decade ago I looked up books to read and made a long list from several articles of books to convince my mom to buy. She didn't buy a single one. I remember this being on the list. And now I'm like, why? Thank goodness I found this at a used bookstore shop in Pasadena. It was a cute read, very creative, very fun. Beautiful gowns. I have the opinion that white people can't / shouldn't write magical realism because they never quite get it right. This book is only more evidence toward my theory, but it was a good effort, Miss Bender. I'll give you that. I had fun but I wasn't blown away.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Suicide, Grief, Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Eating disorder

Minor: Ableism, Medical content

chemeducator's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness

Moderate: Body horror, Medical content, Grief

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

2.5

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

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This book was a gut punch. It was consistently sad the whole way through, but it ends on a hopeful note, at the very least. It's about an emotionally broken family that never heals. It's about childhood disappointments that turn into regrets in adulthood. It's about not fitting in, no matter your age or position in life. This is not a pick-me-up and does not take the tack of “it gets better,” but it is beautifully written. The gorgeous language is what made me keep turning the pages, and quickly, too, but overall, the story was lackluster. Which is disappointing because I could see what the novel could’ve been with another round of editing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abandonment

Moderate: Body horror

sssssoup's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Okay so. What the fuck.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Eating disorder, Infidelity, Medical content, Grief

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Toxic friendship

rickjones's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This is a really odd story, but one I practically fell into, as I read it in the course of one evening, only pausing to eat dinner. After finishing it, I'm left with a kind of melancholy emptiness. The most striking theme in this story to me is one of grief, both for youthful ignorance lost, and for realizing you never found the words to unlock your family members, the same people who sat alongside you and spoke to you daily for years upon years, and never really got to know the most important pieces to them, until suddenly you had run out of time. As confused as this book made me feel during some chapters, I think those are pains most of us can relate to, although we wish we didn't.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Infidelity, Medical content, Dementia, Death of parent, Toxic friendship

Minor: Eating disorder, Sexual content, Alcohol

bencaroline's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness

Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief

Minor: Addiction, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Terminal illness, Death of parent

The addiction I perceive in this book is so nontraditional, even magical, that I didn't give it more than a "minor" designation, but to me, the theme of addiction is pervasive. The disordered eating in this book is similarly magical, but because the book is centered around food and eating and the protagonist's struggle with these things, I marked it as 'graphic.'