Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Le premier jour du printemps by Nancy Tucker

24 reviews

directorpurry's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Medical content

lavendar_fr0g's review against another edition

In theory, this one is right up my alley but I didn’t find myself wanting to finish it. 

It’s not much of a mystery- outside of waiting to see how the murder gets out and all. There’s a level of just feeling bad for everyone involved- I will note that not only is the author (apparently) a psychologist but may also be referring to a specific case as mentioned by some reviews. 

Some of the European slang can get repetitive and the protag has a weird tendency to point out/describe people as fat; kinda gave me the ick but I’m assuming that’s on purpose. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Fatphobia

Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy

cartbark's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Child death

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Grief, and Abandonment

lizardgod's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical trauma

killmoore_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

bluemc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Alcohol

danid23's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, and Murder

heather3879's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

This incredibly dark novel is classified as a “thriller” but I found it more horrifying and reflective than thrilling, in a good way. If that makes sense. Christie is a disturbed and neglected child desperate for love and attention who commits a horrific crime. Told in alternating timelines between Christie as a child and as an adult revisiting her home, the story demonstrates the power of a child’s environment on the psyche and the potential for change given the chance for a meaningful connection. It was heavy and horrific in its realism, but well worth the read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism

kingcrookback's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense 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

This was pitched to me as a thriller, and while there was tension in this story, I'd say that this is more of a very dark, very sad character study. Gillian Flynn-esque in the sense that it grapples with themes of childhood trauma/abuse and contemplation of motherhood but with timelines not quite so pressing or urgent. It would have been very easy for Tucker to have made Chrissie out to be an inscrutable monster, but while her actions are hideous, she is still a child - pitiable, at times exasperating or ridiculous, but replete with the kind of logic and understanding of the world that fills only those who are still new to life. As for Julia, for a while I couldn't figure out if having and caring (so deeply) for Molly stemmed from a sense of ingrained selfishness or newly developed selflessness, until I figured that it made more sense for the answer to be "both," no clean lines and no clear-cut answer.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy

ashmarie166's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment