Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Chaos Theory by Nic Stone

15 reviews

mishale1's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Nic Stone sure is a great writer! I tore through her Dear Martin and Dear Justyce books and pre-ordered this one. Then I let it linger on my shelf a bit cause I knew it would be emotional and I wasn't sure it was the best time for an emotional read. But I finally  picked it up yesterday and, big surprise, tore through it. I almost finished this in one day too.

The author covers some majorly serious, and also sad, issues. There are content warnings galore. I won’t spoil the storyline by going into them but please check the content warnings to make sure you feel like reading this when you do. But I also want to say that despite my own hesitation because I worried that it would be sad and heavy, I found this to be incredibly readable. It felt hopeful. At the end, I was happy with the way the epilogue wrapped up the story,

Sure, this is a love story but it’s a love story between two young individuals dealing with some major stuff. I felt like this was more about their support of each other, and their connection, than anything else. They could pour out their hearts to each other and not feel judged. For Shelbi especially, that’s something she never thought she’d feel again outside her family.

I think I’ll leave my review at that. Because if I keep talking I’m going to wind up talking about Shelbi and Andy’s backstories and they’re not on the book jacket so they’re probably spoilers. So I’m just going to say that I really enjoyed this book and really respect this author’s skill. Can’t wait to see what she’s got lined up next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Grief, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Infidelity

effys's review against another edition

5.0

I found this book incredibly emotionally impactful. It was an amazing book about two teenagers learning to create a bond with eachother while trying to overcome each of their own personal struggles and it really showed how mental illness can impact your relationships with others. 
Nic Stone created such an amazing story that made me laugh, made me want to cry and really just hit all the emotions. Due to the subject it does have a lot of quite dark moments that could definitely be triggering for some but as someone who has experienced many issues with mental illness I appreciate how Nic Stone didn't try to sugar coat it or act like one person can come along and fix everything, it felt so raw and real.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Addiction

Moderate: Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

kkchouse20's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Suicide, Alcoholism, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abortion

speterson47's review against another edition

4.0

Shelbi and Andy both have struggles in their lives so starting a relationship might not be the best idea. Andy is finding himself drunk more and more often, and Shelbi has been avoiding making friends at her new school because of what happened with her last friendship.

I would recommend to realistic fiction fans who like a hint of romance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Self harm and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Sexual content

lyssie03's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Alcoholism, and Mental illness

Moderate: Child death and Abortion

Minor: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity

mamaofperfectpayton's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Alcoholism, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Mental illness

purplepenning's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

Super fast read and one of the best portrayals of young love and mental health struggles I've seen in YA. I love how smart and talented these main characters are and how even the secondary characters get nuanced, realistic portrayals.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Alcoholism

Moderate: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Child death, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Addiction, and Self harm

Minor: Cursing, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Vomit

delz's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative sad fast-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

4.5

Nic Stone begins this book my explaining how much she hates the term “mental illness”, so I’ll say this story is about two people whose brains work differently. Shelbi and Walter/Andy meet over text, accidentally. Walter/Andy is drunk texting his ex, but he’s off by just one number. It just so happens that the person on the other end is very empathetic, tries to talk him down and makes him swear he won’t drive. Unfortunately he doesn’t follow this sage advice and crashes his car. Shelbi figures out what happened and introduces herself as his anonymous texter. They are both dealing with their own personal stuff, but they decide to be “friends.”  This story seems very personal to Stone. She gives the care and respect to the characters and their different working brains. The reader may learn to appreciate the differences all humans live with whether we can physically see them or not. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Toxic relationship

atvreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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: Alcoholism

Moderate: Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Self harm

Minor: Child death

laheath's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-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

4.25

Excellent dual POV representation of mental illness (like the author, I hate that term too), as 2 teens also deal with all the normal pressures of school, family, and romance. Their individual stories are actually more complicated than average, including a parent running for political office, death of a sibling, changing schools 3 times in as many years plus a cross-country move, and having a parent famous for writing steamy urban romance novels. One of them already knows how to protect herself and isn't ready to let anyone else in and the other needs someone to show him he's worthy of being loved before he goes too far in hurting himself or someone else. Great characters in their support systems too, although one had too many issues of her own to be helpful.

I was so glad to hear the author's note included in the audiobook. Heads up, for those who usually skip this, the story continues after this, so don't think it ended abruptly (can't say if the format is the same in the print version).

Lots of trigger warnings for this book, so read with caution, as the author mentions in her intro note. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Abortion, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Infidelity

Minor: Medical content, Bullying, Car accident, Eating disorder, and Injury/Injury detail