Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton

5 reviews

camoo3032's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

1.75

Trent Dalton doesn't shy away from showing the darker bits of Australian society that we rarely get to see. Because this perspective is rarely shown, I would consider this book worth reading. I would warn fellow readers that this makes the book continuously confronting and it is certainly not a lighthearted read.
This provides the backdrop of a story that is far-fetched with descriptive writing that is quite abstract. I am sure there are people out there that would love this book but I found it was trying to be more profound than it actually is.
I also found that the female characters weren't as fully formed or complex as the male ones which is frustrating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Minor: Blood, Bullying, Ableism, Addiction, Cursing, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Excrement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Rape, Torture, Violence, Sexism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Gore, and Sexual assault

elsa_clare's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

slewi162's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Violence, Physical abuse, and Death

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, and Bullying

caittyj's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism, Addiction, Bullying, and Panic attacks/disorders

sharyce's review

adventurous challenging reflective slow-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? Yes

2.5

Overall this book wasn’t too bad, but there were just a few too many things that I didn’t like to give it a higher rating. The book took way to long for me to get into - I had to force myself to read the first half, many of the characters were unlikeable - especially Caitlyn Spies and her relationship with the protagonist Eli Bell, and although this book was written with a touch of magic realism, the whole ending just felt too unrealistic, causing the book as a whole to feel slightly disjointed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Addiction

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, Cursing, and Body horror

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Vomit, Gun violence, Excrement, and Blood