Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Ward D by Freida McFadden

8 reviews

theycallmerash's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was very exciting, nerve wracking, and tense! Some information about the narrator makes her seem somewhat unreliable which is always a fun read in my opinion. Of course it wouldn't be Freida without a big twist (and another one at the very end that you weren't expecting!)
I did take a point away for some of the mental health portrayals and a couple stretches past the imagination. 
But otherwise this was an interesting read with lots of shocking twists!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

greatexpectations77's review

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I liked this one fine, and it had the patented Frieda McFadden twists. But god damn, you would think this was written 40 years ago for how it talked about mental health! Super judgy and exclusive terms about people being crazy and unstable and like animals. It felt like McFadden had never met a mentally ill person. Folks in overnight facilities are all trying their best. No one wants to live with a brain that tortures them. Everyone is deserving of care. And I feel like if one of Amy's doctors had read this book, she would get a severe talking to about how she refers to mentally ill patients. Also, she needs to get her head out of her ass about this whole I-was-dumped-for-a-test thing. People make mistakes! They get really stressed about life-changing tests and they screw up their priorities! But don't spend the whole book

hating your ex and then suddenly feel all bad when he's dead.

McFadden has written female characters that were way easier to support than Amy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment

joanmcoles's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Drug use and Violence

Minor: Child abuse and Abandonment

sharlapeggy's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Wow. What a book. Brilliant. I’m still reeling. Twists and turns galore. One of the best Freida McFadden books I’ve read so far!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

sierrabowers's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I can’t tell if the audiobook reader is what makes me feel like some of the book is cringy, but I also think the narrator is just stupid. I know that the plot of this book makes her second guess herself, and I even thought it was an unreliable narrator trope because of what had been done to her. But in the end, it was completely different than what I thought. Overall I still enjoyed the book, but I would have rather read the paper copy so the audiobook voice didn’t ruin it. Freida McFadden always uses her so in the future I think I’ll just read her books in paper or ebook form 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

aparker89's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Need a fast paced book that I a good distraction from everyday life? This is certainly a good one for that. This author is good at writing fast paced, easy to read books that capture your attention. It's certainly not perfect and some of the "twists" are pretty predictable for any seasoned mystery reader. I appreciate that this book (although similar to another by this same author in pattern and story) takes place over the course of a single night. It makes it that much more compelling to finish. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

fkshg8465's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Book was probably better than a three star review, but the characters were endlessly annoying. The only character I liked was Spider-Man. Also wished it would’ve ended with the epilogue.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

pageafter_paige's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is hands down one of Frieda’s best in my opinion. I was hooked instantly by the short chapter and the writing style! I was on the edge of my seat as I read this in one sitting. The entire book I was waiting for the next shoe to drop and I was trying so hard to figure out the twists but yet again Freida has me tricked! I loved how we got present day chapters and then flash backs from 8 years before to provide more context and deepen the characters. 

I really don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to give anything away but damn I wish this book was a movie! If you’re looking for a fast paced psychological thriller or are in a slump this is the book for you!!!! 

I know I’m hyping this up so much but really this felt like I just discovered Freida for the first time again. Maybe I NEEDED a thriller of maybe she’s just THAT GOOD but either way this is a top tier read for me!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism