Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

La artista de henna: Una mujer en busca de sus sueños en la ciudad de Jaipur by Alka Joshi

15 reviews

chelle22's review against another edition

challenging dark sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

kris_tea516's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-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? No

5.0

Book 81 of 2024

“The Henna Artist” by Alka Joshi

5/5 ⭐️ 

Set in Jaipur, India in the 1950’s, this is the story of a woman who left her abusive husband to make herself a better life. The unexpected arrival of a sister she never knew existed upends life & disrupts her plans. The years of work she spent building up a reputation of an expert henna artist & medicine woman is on the line. 

This was a beautifully written story of how life never goes the way we plan but it also a redemption story for almost every character involved. It is also a story of how none of us build a life outside of community. Through our journey people help us along sometimes in a benevolent spirit & sometimes with evil intent that leads to growth in character. No one in this story is entirely good or entirely bad…well, maybe one character…

I loved this book but I will warn that it may not be for everyone. There is some pretty intense scenes & topics discussed that are definitely not for kids but also many adults might prefer to skip this book so I will list some trigger warnings:

• emotional, mental, physical, & sexual abuse (at least one horrifyingly graphic mention of sexual abuse)
• Heavy discussion & focus at times around abortion
• One very descriptive sex scene
• Prostitution
• Abandonment
• Infertility, miscarriage & still birth
• Death of a parent
• Arranged marriages
• Depression
• Suicide
• Infidelity
• Sexual harassment 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Abortion, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Rape, Islamophobia, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Colonisation

tehstorm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, and Abortion

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Alcohol, and Colonisation

jowiththetbrshelves's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was an uneven experience for me: at times I loved the vivid descriptions of clothing and food and life in Jaipur, but the main characters are often frustrating and this is a much darker book than I expected based on the back cover. Many trigger warnings for this one. At time rewarding, at times frustrating.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility and Abortion

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Major trigger warnings for anyone dealing with fertility

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-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

I liked this, but it moved a little bit slowly for me, which usually I don't mind. But it was one that felt like many more hours than it actually was. Was it because

the younger sister was so fucking annoying? Perhaps. She just seemed REALLY DUMB. Which might not be nice, but yeek.

I thought it promoted interesting ideas about how women can keep their independence through birth control, which is an important conversation to be having right now. (Is it ever not an important conversation in this hellscape?) Would give this author another try. Oh also -

for someone who knows so much about pregnant people - for the main character to not know her sister was preggers for so long seemed a bit far-fetched.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Abortion, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, and Abandonment

Minor: Death, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Colonisation

joopa09's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Abortion, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, and Sexism

nikrib's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Classism

jrow's review against another edition

hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content

Minor: Bullying, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Abandonment, and Colonisation

sabs98's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is beautifully written telling of a woman’s journey to establish her independence as she navigates the complex implications of events that force her to change course and redefines what freedom means to her. Author Joshi writes with remarkable prose, expressing intricately and concisely all that needs to be said about the complex hardships and injustices her characters face. She also describes herbal medicine and knowledge of plants medicinal properties with measured expertise. The characters feel real because of their flawed nature, the mistakes they make, and the way they reflect on or indirectly acknowledge those mistakes. I am beyond excited to dive into book 2 of this series!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Classism

sedgewren's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

A heartwarming, dynamic story with believably flawed and sympathetic characters that are entwined in India's deep culture and caste hierarchy. The audiobook was narrated and produced beautifully. All the loose ends were neatly tied up, which was satisfying but I found it slightly too neat. Malek and the parakeet were my favourite characters, and I greatly enjoyed the vibrant depictions of Rajasthani traditions and society.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Death of parent