Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

342 reviews

gabriella_dorianne's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, and Body shaming

scrunger's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

sunbutterlover's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

wow wow wow. just wow. never thought I would find a book that I like as much as my favorite book but this is now up there. highly recommend for everybody to check this one out 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Body shaming, Alcohol, Blood, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content

raneyak's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.75

It got a little confusing at times, but overall this book is a lyrical exploration of trauma and recovery. The main character has traits of some sort of dissociation disorder, but rather than portraying her experience through a psychological lens the book tells her story in terms of her cultural and spiritual beliefs.  

The story is told in a non-linear fashion, jumping back and forth in the timeline while different characters (personalities/identities within the main character) tell stories from their perspectives. This choice worked excellently for the story being told, with story pieces being told not in order of time but instead in order of personal significance. 

This book was quite explicit, though, and while the language was lyrical it still talked about self harm and suicidal ideation. Be very careful reading it if you have a history of mental health issues. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Transphobia, Blood, Child abuse, Rape, Grief, Dysphoria, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol, Medical content, Outing, and Homophobia

bookishmillennial's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews because I don’t like leaving them. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial

“In many ways, you see, I am not even real.”

I still can’t wrap my head around this being Akwaeke’s debut! It’s fantastic 😍 This is a character-driven novel and the concept is brilliant. Ada has multiple selves and we experience life alongside them, including some severe trauma. It was especially impressive how Akwaeke definitively fleshed out each “voice” / part of Ada. 

cw: Self harm, Rape, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Child abuse

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Child abuse

poubelleboi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Veramente originale, ben scritto e interessante. "Acquadolce" di Akwaeke Emezi è un viaggio nella mente di una ragazza nigeriana col DDI (disturbo dissociativo dell'identità - se non lo conoscete, prima si chiamava qualcosa come disturbo della personalità multipla ma non è più corretto) che però non è trattato in maniera medica ma spirituale. I suoi alter sono dèi con desideri e obiettivi da dèi. Quando la protagonista si trasferisce negli Stati Uniti, loro combattono per tornare alle loro origini, in Nigeria, e dai loro fratellisorelle. Ed è troppo interessante leggere il loro punto di vista, che è allo stesso tempo esterno e interno. Veramente una lettura da dieci.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Blood, Death, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Dysphoria, Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Abortion, Homophobia, and Infidelity

lizziaha's review against another edition

3.75

This book is no plot, just vibes. And the vibes are good—I love Emezi’s writing style—but I was a bit confused at times. I couldn’t wrap my head around all of it. I didn’t know whether to read it literally or as a metaphor. I would highly recommend reading the author’s note at the end, though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, and Mental illness

Moderate: Drug use, Child abuse, Death, Transphobia, Infidelity, Homophobia, Alcohol, Grief, and Outing

Minor: Religious bigotry

daraadedara's review

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

It’s a READ. Very difficult in both subject matter and the actual text. I will need to read it again, but it calls in to question what we think we know about identity and how we deal with traumatic situations. The author has such a beautiful mind and I can’t wait to read other books they’ve written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

aliciawithoutkeys's review

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Rape, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

cecilialau_'s review

4.0

This was my first Akwaeke Emezi book. It has only confirmed with absolute certainty that I want to read more by them.
Wow, what an original and interesting story while also being heartbreaking and relatable in how specific and triggering experiences that happen TO us can change our trajectory and personality. (How protecting the self can look and feel).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Alcohol, Physical abuse, and Abandonment