Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

71 reviews

blissofalife's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful 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

Fantastic follow up story, answered so many questions and gave more insight into new and old characters and the world of Gilead. Thoroughly enjoyed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Sexism, Sexual assault, Classism, Confinement, Death, and Death of parent

mushymargo's review

adventurous dark 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? No

4.5

Loved this book, felt true to the first book and even the show in not the plot but the message, and portrayal of Gilead and its citizens/ enemies. Loved the deep dive into the aunts, and the lives of children that we didn’t get in the book or show (yet). Beautifully written my only criticism would be how the MCs seemed to so easily leave their whole lives after people told them to. I felt it was a little unrealistic that they would throw everything away on such slight chances that they would even succeed and that they didn’t seem to have an extreme desire to leave their lives and jump into the unknown.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Suicide, Infertility, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault

beckyyreadss's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I decided to read this book because I read the first book for 100 books to read in your lifetime. The first book was brutal so I knew what I was getting myself into. When I finished The Handmaid’s Tale and I saw that she had wrote a second book about these characters, I was instantly intrigued. This book slightly confused me but I just want to give all these characters a hug and therapy.  

This book is still based around The Republic of Gilead and it is beginning to rot from within. At the crucial moment, two girls with radically different experiences of the regime come face to face with the legendary and ruthless Aunt Lydia. But how far will each go for what she believes? The three points of views are Aunt Lydia who is known for being the scary and strict leader, Agnes who is a young woman who has just joined the Gilead and Daisy, a young woman living in Canada.  

I had high expectations for this book and I felt like it fell a bit flat. I think there was a lot of pressure that she had to do well because of how good The Handmaid’s Tale is. I liked The Handmaid’s Tale because of the singular point of view of Offred. Then tension and the buildup. I usually love multiple POVs but with the jumps of location and what was happening, it was very confusing and chaotic. I was hoping this was from Offred’s point of view especially with how the first book ended. I don’t think this really added anything to the first book. 
 

I enjoyed the mystery of this book and the Baby Nicole side of it. I wished this book had stayed with the point of view of Agnes. I felt like her character was so good and I wanted so much from her. Especially with her journey as a young woman and being forced to marry someone she had no interest in being. It shows another point of view from Offred and how one willing comes to Gilead. I loved seeing Aunt Lydia again and seeing how she became the villain in the first book. I would have loved to have seen more of the Pearl Girls; I think that side of the story was interesting at times. 

Was this book needed? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Was it a difficult read? Yes.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Misogyny

Moderate: Pedophilia, Death, and Suicide attempt

readbycarina's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, and Violence

Moderate: Death

Minor: Infidelity and Pregnancy

galerieanna25's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Death, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Rape, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

sappylilhexnut's review

She wrote radiation and biowarfare wrong. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Incest, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Death, Infertility, Pedophilia, Murder, Excrement, and Hate crime

staceyinthesticks's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm

Minor: Terminal illness, Infertility, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide attempt, Death, and Violence

angelparey's review

challenging reflective 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? No

4.25

This book is a page-turner. I finished it quickly as it is suspenseful in a good way and makes you feel for the narrators. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

avocadotoastbee's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced

3.5

The Testaments is not really what I was hoping for.
In the acknowledgements, Atwood says that The Testaments answers questions left by The Handmaid's Tale and shows what happened after the novel. In my opinion, however, it doesn't do that at all.
Don't get me wrong, there was definitely more information about Gilead and what led to its downfall, although it is never really said how Gilead collapsed.
Another thing that really bothered me was that it basically stuck to the extended storyline and characters from the Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale. I would have liked the book much more if it had been narrated by other characters and abandoned the plot of The Handmaid's Tale's nameless narrator (June) completely, or at least partially.
All in all, I think Margaret Atwood did a great job of building this dystopian world (some of which, unfortunately, isn't that far from the reality we're living in right now), but The Testaments didn't meet my expectations and was predictable, and kind of unnecessary.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Incest, Classism, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Infidelity

Minor: Murder

annadrinksmilk's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

your favorite plot line in this book tells me so much about you. personally i favored daisy/jade/nicole

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Genocide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Misogyny, Suicide, Self harm, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Death, Murder, and Torture