cryfest's reviews
23 reviews

All Fours by Miranda July

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

The Night Flowers by Sara Herchenroether

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Mad Honey by Jennifer Finney Boylan, Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Reading this as a trans queer non-binary person who has loved Jodi Picoult (one of the authors of this book) since high school -  I was a little apprehensive because I wasn’t sure if I trusted Jodi with my trans siblings, and while heart breaking, a lot of nuance to trans identities was explored compassionately, with the genius and lived experience of Finney Boylan of course. I definitely would encourage non-trans folks to read this as a small slice of insight to one fictional trans person’s experience/journey.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Mass/school shootings, and Abortion

The Couples Trip by Ulf Kvensler

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

One's Company by Ashley Hutson

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Classism

What Happened To You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Bruce D. Perry, Oprah Winfrey

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Stone Fruit by Lee Lai

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Transphobia