Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Uma Pequena Vida by Hanya Yanagihara

532 reviews

miapecnik's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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

5.0

i started reading this book expecting the worst. people called it boring, trauma-p*rn, said the main character was insufferable etc.
i couldn't disagree more. the writing is gorgeous, i struggled to put the book down, i fell in love with the characters and wept like a baby by the end of it. i cannot give the book any less than 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

malin11's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

julesheegs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Dysphoria

vulcajes's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

Oh my god do not read this book. It is 700 pages of shitty trauma porn and I hated every second. Jude isn't a likeable character (pity ≠ liked), Willem sucks, and I WISH Malcolm and J.B. had more time to shine. Malcolm is entirely ignored for the plot to revolve solely around Jude's continuous trauma and J.B. only comes up to traumatise Jude more. It's good to write about complex traumatic experiences but holy shit the entire book is just one trauma after the other. The whole moral of the story is that some people should just kill themselves after EVERYTHING Jude's adoptive parents did for him. Justice for J.B. and Malcolm, we never got a satisfying story for them, let alone an ending. Fuck this book royally.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

tellatrix's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-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

4.75

𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 

𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐚 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚

Disclaimer: Please note that this review may contain spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.

I just finished the book, and my vision is still a bit blurry from crying. Please excuse any errors in spelling.

This book taught me so much about life and made me realize how fortunate and ungrateful I can be at times. My problems seem so minor compared to what others endure. But then I think about Jude, who tried to convince himself that his past experiences weren’t that bad, that he deserved what happened to him. How could anyone, any human being, go through such trauma and believe they deserved it?

It was heartbreaking to see Jude blame himself. He trusted Brother Luke and went with him, thinking he cared. At that age, after everything he'd been through, wasn't it natural to cling to someone who seemed to care? Someone who saw him as a human being, not an object for gratification?

I loved the book's portrayal of each character. By the end, I felt like I knew them all, as if we were friends. I appreciated the development of each character, and I particularly enjoyed Harold, Andy, and Richard. I found them even more compelling than JB and Malcolm.

However, while the book was deeply moving, some parts felt repetitive. I understand the author's intent to portray Jude's cyclical existence, but it sometimes felt like there was little respite. I found myself feeling trapped and unable to continue reading, dreading what might happen next.

I was also disappointed by the deaths of Willem, Malcolm, and Sophia. These felt unnecessary and forced, particularly Willem's death in a car accident. It would have been more impactful if he had died of natural causes.

Despite these minor criticisms, my favorite quote from the book perfectly encapsulates its themes:

"And so I try to be kind to everything I see, and in everything I see, I see him." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

sanlisam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

koranmc's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

komiification's review against another edition

dark 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

I need to think about this because I was so tempted to give this 5 stars up until the ending.. So I have very conflicting feelings at the moment... 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer

evalolitah's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

gabbygrobler's review against another edition

emotional 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: Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Blood, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury