Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

All That's Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien

30 reviews

pri_t's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective

4.0

Book club book.

My Ratings (from our book club forms):
Characters - 4/5
Writing - 4/5
Plot Story - 5/5

General vibes from everyone:
- Liked the multi POV - but least enjoyed Lulu’s
- Good range of characters that were fleshed out 
- Migrant experiences in which some aspects were relatable but a lot was new to read and learn about 

My notes:
- Liked learning and seeing the different migrant experiences and different experiences of the Vietnamese war and what immigrating looked like for them 
- Didn’t appreciate the crying at 1:30am in the morning as I finished the book. (Really liked that I got so moved by the story and characters)

My Fave quotes:
- “…until one day flora couldn’t remember what her brother had looked like before his skin declared war on him.”
- “He told her he loved her. He’d never said it again, embarrassed by his break in tradition, embarrassed by his honesty.”
- ”…beacuse what do the living do but carry the weight of the dead?”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Grief, and War

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Alcoholism

kiwichill's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

bethanyrh's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I thought this was going to be more of a mystery/whodunnit book, but it was much more of an exploration of grief and family trauma.

I enjoyed the changing perspectives, looking at the story through Flora, Lulu and Minnie’s eyes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse and Drug abuse

tracey1981's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

Although it was a heartbreaking read, I loved this novel about an older sister investigating her teen brother’s murder in a Vietnamese-Australian community. The narration is from various witnesses’ perspectives including an adorable ten year-old, a high school teacher, and a wedding singer, but keeps it returning to the sister’s perspective. The story offers a lot of depth and thoughtfulness on subjects including intergenerational trauma, parent-child relationships, and adolescent friendships. I found a lot of it relatable and also learned a lot about a community that isn’t my own. Highly recommended, especially for readers of Celeste Ng, Liz Moore and Angie Kim.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism and Drug abuse

ionarachel's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Vomit

aweekinthelife's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

cw: death of a sibling 

very engaging (listened to the audio on long car rides) and i enjoyed the different perspectives and personalities of all the different characters. not so much a mystery in the sense of a "whodunnit" type but an exploration of all the different individual and collective stories that led up to and past the moment of the tragedy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Violence

karenperry93's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Murder

kirstym25's review against another edition

emotional sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse

sangsmiles's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Racism, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Blood, Colonisation, and War

siobhanward's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

This book was reminiscent of <i> Everything I Never Told You </i> particularly with its themes of family expectations, how to live up to them, and what happens if someone you love might not be the person you thought they were. This narrative explored some heavier themes though, including anti-Asian racism, drug epidemics and the long-term repercussions of the Vietnam War.

Overall this was a decent book. At times it felt as though it went on a bit too long, but it was well-written and heartbreaking. Lien created a strong cast of characters, but sometimes it felt like she wasn't quite sure what to do with them. However, knowing this is a debut, I know that Lien will continue to create great stories and I look forward to seeing what she does next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death