Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall

3 reviews

minimicropup's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

The writing is extremely “tell-not-show“. It was hard to get an idea of the surroundings because they weren’t descriptive or immersive. It was visual and very basic like the red room, the waiting area with high humidity, the island, the dock, the jungle... The main character moves all over a yacht, for example, but no scene is set other than it being luxurious, rich, near a pool and so on. The dialogue doesn’t naturally flow, it’s disconnected and flat. Almost like “oh no, ___ Is dead, what is happening?” People standing by like “Oh no, you shouldn’t do ___ (some dangerous thing)”, but not doing anything…no sense of panic, just being told the characters are scared or confused. I don’t mind books where I have to rely primarily on my imagination, but it’s an art form to write that style and keep that freedom for the reader to maintain the world they are creating with guidance from the author, and this author did not achieve that at all. When having to rely primarily on our imaginations for every setting it becomes frustrating to find halfway through the book that we imagined something so incorrectly. Far too often I found myself wondering where a character even was! Very close to being a DNF.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Suicide

Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, and Bullying

Minor: Terminal illness and Vomit

maritay918's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

Not one likable character. Interesting twist at the end. Original is better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Bullying, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Drug use

Minor: Suicide, Police brutality, Racism, and Antisemitism

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, Bullying, Alcohol, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Murder, Suicide, and Terminal illness