Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Once There Was by Kiyash Monsef

4 reviews

apierlessbridge's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-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

4.0

A quietly poignant and powerful book about grief, friendship, family, animals, magic, inspired by Persian mythology. I've heard it described as a cross between 'Fantastic Beasts' and Neil Gaimain, which I feel is pretty accurate. I loved the journey that Marjan went on from confused and angry, to discovering the truth of her family power and her own. Beautiful, but with familiar MG/YA fantasy tropes. I loved the audio narration here. Very good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Grief

fifth_magpie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

alwaysshure's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Medical content

Minor: Animal death

meganpbell's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.25

When Marjan’s father is mysteriously murdered, she discovers he was a veterinarian to the kinds of mythic creatures in the stories he once told her…and she inherited his power to care for beasts like griffons and gnomes herself. 

Once There Was is an emotionally rich, beautifully told story, full of adventure, mystery, and magical realism, with great Iranian-American representation, about the paradox of living—wonder and responsibility, grief and connection—that I’d love for readers of all ages to enjoy and engage with, however I do think younger readers (this is rated ages 10+) will struggle to maintain interest over the 400 medium-paced pages and more mature plot lines, and I worry that, despite how utterly realistically and compassionately she’s written, more privileged readers will find Marjan “unlikeable” because of her grief and anger. 

I found the villain’s motivations both a bit murky and kind of pat and the murderer reveal may also be a bit confusing for younger readers—and it felt a little uncomfortable to me concerning the human-creature binary in the world of the book…and possibly problematic from the perspective of mental illness representation.

This book is special, ambitious, and one-of-a-kind and I’m hopeful it will enchant and challenge readers in a major way. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Confinement, Abandonment, Medical content, Death, Gun violence, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Classism, and Grief