Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Pisces by Melissa Broder

24 reviews

micahp's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad 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

2.0

This book had an interesting concept, but the overall themes and development of the main character and surrounding cast were disappointing. The main character's entire personality and experience revolved around her obsession with love, which made for a repetitive story with little development. The tragedy of the ending <death of the dog she was caring for> was sad and unnecessary to the plot. The trigger warnings of this book needs to be lengthy.  
This was disappointing to read after Broder's Milkfed, with the plot and characters needing more fleshing out and significantly more editing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, Addiction, Infidelity, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Miscarriage

ashlyntalksbooks's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, and Animal cruelty

stevie's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, and Self harm

lavenderpagess's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

firstknight's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? Yes

4.5

A really easy read. Got this done in about three sessions. It's one of those books that's easy to pick up and then not put down for the next hundred pages, since the plot flows at a fast pace and the inner monologue of the protagonist - Lucy - is entertaining even at her most pretentious and unlikeable. 
Not usually a fan of romance, modern settings or first-person narrative but can say I really enjoyed this one. Great for light reading if you're not too put off by some of the darker themes. The last third really brought the whole thing together for me. 
4.5 stars for really making me think critically about merman sex anatomy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Stalking

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Animal death, and Excrement

Minor: Addiction, Death of parent, and Drug use

pabi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Drug use, and Animal death

Minor: Stalking and Abortion

abbie_'s review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Animal death

Moderate: Death of parent and Animal cruelty

literaryliaisons's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Vomit, and Drug use

halimadreyer's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Vomit, and Blood

lipstickitotheman's review

challenging dark reflective sad medium-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

2.5

I liked the writing, but I kept falling asleep while reading. I enjoyed the first half, but kind of waited to be done with the back half. Fascinating take on mer-people--I do feel that it adds something to the genre. I just didn't particularly enjoy it.

Quotes I Liked
-"I had felt, for a long time, that if I started crying I would not stop--that if I finally ripped, there would be nothing to stop my guts from falling out." Chapter 3
-" But as soon as I saw him coming, I thought, Oh God no. He sort of looked like his picture, but more the monkey aesthetic than the hot one. Also, he had an additional werewolf essence that the photo had not captured." Chapter 13
-"Before the donuts, I didn't even know I wanted to die. Now, I attributed my crying to joy. I hadn't known that I'd wanted joy either. I had not ever known that I could have it. Now I was crying because it felt like a miracle--not only that I could want to live at all but that I actually could." Chapter 44

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Self harm

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Death of parent