Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro

16 reviews

avisreadsandreads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Dementia

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

Minor: Pregnancy

_caroline's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Car accident

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Addiction, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness

samseyz's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I liked how the themes of family, grief, and trauma were explored through the different characters at various points in their lives, but I know this won’t be a very memorable read in the long run

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Grief, Car accident, and Death

katiejohns's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Grief, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Car accident

Moderate: Cancer, Alcoholism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

abbieday's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is a beautiful, painful, and haunting look at how souls are entertained and how we as people exist in the universe with ourselves and one another. The exploration of what happens to us when we keep big secrets is so poignant. My favorite line/reflection: “his gratitude is so wide and deep that it feels, instead, like shame.” I liked Shapiro’s use of shifting narrator’s and timelines to piece together their stories and of course, I cried.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Cancer, Grief, Infidelity, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Dementia

sarahflanders's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Death, Pregnancy, Car accident, Dementia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Cancer

hannahalane's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Dementia, and Death of parent

Moderate: Car accident, Drug abuse, Child death, and Alcoholism

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.0

 Signal Fires is the story of two families living in the same suburban street, whose lives intersect in sometimes surprising ways. It’s a book that spans several decades, albeit in a non-linear fashion, and with much of the action happening off page. As a reader I felt the blurb for this one was misleading. The car accident isn’t really the focus of the story at all. Certainly it had ramifications particularly the impact of secrets and things not spoken about, guilt and regret. However, I was expecting this to be more fleshed out. What really impacted me as a reader was the character of Waldo, his obvious giftedness, his sensitivity, his wonder at the universe, the way his father struggled to connect with him, and the bond he and Dr Wilf forged with each other. Kids like Waldo always grab a piece of my heart. I enjoyed the character studies of the others also. There was a strong philosophical, spiritual element to this book, almost magical realism, and that didn’t work so well for me. It felt heavy handed and not well-integrated with the plot, almost emotionally manipulative. To me it was unnecessary - the details already in the novel were strong enough for the reader reach the desired conclusion, to see the author’s message, on their own accord. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Dementia, Car accident, and Death

Moderate: Cancer, Grief, and Death of parent

nickthebooktoker's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia

Moderate: Death, Car accident, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, and Sexual violence

mrsbennettreads's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Car accident, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Bullying