Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Holly by Stephen King

33 reviews

amp18's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

2.5

It was a good concept but it was so slow. Bogged down with repetitive details. I started skimming halfway through.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Police brutality, Medical content, and Grief

Alzheimer's

kfanucchi's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child death and Blood

Minor: Rape, Vomit, Police brutality, and Abortion

abbysingh's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Homophobia

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Vomit, and Pandemic/Epidemic

annieisawesome's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I did not expect this book to be so intense. Ive read a few other King novels in the past, but its been a while so the writing was unexpected. 

The plot line was so interesting and kept me going. I didn’t read any of the other books that were adjacent to this one. I’m sure I missed some things, but I didn’t mind much. That doesn’t bother me generally as long as I can still follow the plot. One thing I do have to note is that the over focusing on covid really took me out of the plot. I understand why he wrote covid in, but every time there’d be a part with covid I’d be knocked out of the book and I’d have to put it aside for awhile. Also using covid for the slight amount of plot device felt sloppy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Lesbophobia

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Holly is one of my favorite ever King characters, and I hope to see her again. I’ve loved watching her character progression, and while I was crushed when Bill was taken out of the narrative, I can now understand why that was necessary for Holly to become who she is in this book. I’m also relieved she got to where she was with her out of control family. I also love her friendships with Jerome and Barbara, but I feel like they are written with less depth. I would love to see a spinoff just for Barbara, or let’s give them more prominence in the next Holly installment as more than standby supporting characters. Actually, they were fairly active in this one, but I have a begging feeling that they were underutilized.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

occultmorning's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, Lesbophobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Alcohol

kingsteph's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent

lizzieinmt's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gun violence, Racism, Grief, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, Medical content, and Murder

eadrianschmitz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

What a horror! Really enjoyed this and love that Jerome and Barbara are still with us for the ride. Holly didn't seem as neurotic as portrayed in the prior three novels which I kinda miss but it shows her growth which I'm pleased with.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jesshart8's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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? N/A

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail