Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Hurricane Girl by Marcy Dermansky

6 reviews

thisbookrox's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

2.0

this was not it for me. i really didn’t relate to Allison at all, and i hated the ending.

Spoiler

the way she put herself right back where she started at the cameraman’s house at the end really made me mad. it wasn’t even a satisfying revenge plot. at least she saved the cat.

 

throughout the book, Allison would do things, while thinking and knowing she shouldn’t be doing them, and continue doing them. from beginning to end. it caused me to have zero sympathy for some of the things that happened to her. (not the head injury because we don’t victim blame, but literally everything else.) the book was also SO repetitive. the author could have saved like 50 pages if they didn’t repeat that there was a hurricane & she had brain surgery over and over. also why was Allison irritated by every noise she ever heard? i get she had a head injury but she also noted that she was that way before the injury as well. also the storyline where

Spoiler

she thought she was pregnant

didn’t have a resolution so it didn’t make sense. 

overall i really didn’t like this…the only things i enjoyed were the sweet-ish moments with her brother and nephew, and her love of swimming and water. if i hadn’t have been listening on audio, it probably would have been a DNF. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol and Drug use

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-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

the writing style was alright, like why don't characters use contractions in dialogue. that's so weird. but i loved the main character. she just wanted to swim and that's it. me too girlie. i wish there was more at the end though, like a confirmation that

Spoiler

she wasn't pregnant

.
also Fleabag reference. we stay winning

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore

Moderate: Terminal illness, Grief, Physical abuse, Cursing, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Death of parent

Minor: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, and Alcohol

rachaelwho's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Another "comedy" I didn't find remotely funny, I can't seem to get away from it-- maybe it's me. I found this one very smart, clever even, but not funny. It was moving, but it felt pretty awful. The voice actress did an excellent job of performing Allison's confusion and sensory overwhelm, it felt visceral. I have a lot of sensitivity to sound, so I really felt those passages. I felt so much tension and anxiety at so many moments, particularly when she held the baby. Processing her experience, deciding how she felt about what various people did to her and what it might mean for those relationships, second-guessing her decisions and the placement of her trust or consent... It was a lot.
I initially was going to give this book 4-point-something, but realized that while it wasn't my personal favorite ever, there's really nothing I would change, so it gets all five. Very worthwhile read, but to me, very challenging and emotional. I'm still thinking about it and I might read this one again someday, I think.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Blood, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Vomit, Gore, Confinement, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Toxic friendship and Death of parent

librosdenopal's review

dark emotional funny tense fast-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

3.5

a funny, poignant and subtle comment on the shock that comes with grief and mourning a loved one. i wasn't expecting it to be so sad but also really, terribly funny. "i have my health..." 

it does feel like the book just started in terms of growth as the ending got closer. i was hoping for a stronger finish.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Confinement, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

suzyreadsbooks's review

dark funny tense fast-paced

3.0

gifted to me by knopf!
a good beach read. it really hits the ground running. weird, choppy, propulsive despite the lulls in plot. really funny moments, really tender moments about grief and family, lots of ridiculousness. you can easily breeze through it all, even the parts veering on horror, because Allison’s narration jumps all over the place due to her very recent brain injury. 

but i am tired of authors deciding to prove a character’s unlikeability by having them make random microaggressions! and let's stop using mental illness as the antagonist’s motivations!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Body horror, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Medical content, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Drug use and Racism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

leahrosiee's review against another edition

funny fast-paced

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

3.5

I don’t know how I would give this book a true rating but for pure entertainment? All the stars.
Dating a rich doctor for his rooftop swimming pool is something I would do any day. Go Allison.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Physical abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gore, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcohol