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Reviews tagging 'Child death'
Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal
98 reviews
mrslibrarianclaus's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Miscarriage
christinajleaf's review against another edition
Initially, it took me a long time to get comfortable with who the female characters were and their relationship to each other. I thought Florence was incredibly unlikable with little redemption, and that Ned was sort of a pain, too. I also thought the tragic event midway through felt hard to believe—would a parent really leave their three-year-old alone by a pool? I’m not a parent but it felt pretty negligent and not in line with the characters
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Miscarriage
lo_ferrara's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.0
Unexpectedly sad and a bit too long.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
hdunscombe's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Infidelity, and Car accident
megpro7's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
cloughcc's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Miscarriage
lizfritsch's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Cancer
gwalt118's review
sad
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
2.5
Let it be known that I love Minnesotan authors. I love my adopted home state. I love the Northern part of my adopted home state. I love Midwestern culture. I loved - absolutely LOVED - Kitchens of the Great Midwest. Alas, I did not love this book.
I found aspects of this book to be particularly heartbreaking in ways I was not prepared for and probably would have caused me not to read the book at this particular time. Both the cover and the jacket description made me think this book was a somewhat lighthearted, humorous summer read. It is not. I found this novel profoundly sad and not necessarily in a bittersweet way. Just a sad way. Most of the characters frustrated me. Some redeemed themselves, but others did not.
I loved the aspects of Northern Minnesota culture and the unique beauty that is a Midwestern supper club. Stradal is a wonderful storyteller, and I admire the way he wrote this story of multiple women over three generations. I will absolutely continue to read his work, but this one just missed the mark for me.
I found aspects of this book to be particularly heartbreaking in ways I was not prepared for and probably would have caused me not to read the book at this particular time. Both the cover and the jacket description made me think this book was a somewhat lighthearted, humorous summer read. It is not. I found this novel profoundly sad and not necessarily in a bittersweet way. Just a sad way. Most of the characters frustrated me. Some redeemed themselves, but others did not.
I loved the aspects of Northern Minnesota culture and the unique beauty that is a Midwestern supper club. Stradal is a wonderful storyteller, and I admire the way he wrote this story of multiple women over three generations. I will absolutely continue to read his work, but this one just missed the mark for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Infertility, and Death of parent
hal2499's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.5
So the start of this book I was confused. I get confused when you start jumping time and characters. I started to figure out what was happening and then got into it. By the 45% I was into the book and couldn't stop listening to it. The ending is what really did it for me and I almost started crying but alas I was at work and kept it together.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Infertility, and Miscarriage
leahgustafson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I picked this one up because I needed something lighter and was really in the mood for something to fuel my excitement for summer. The Midwest, summertime, Up North vibes were spot on and made my heart so happy. Also, knowing and having been to the places referred to in a book always makes the reading experience more fun for me.
•
I am a fan of books with multiple narrators and nonlinear timelines, and I read a lot of them. Unfortunately, the changing of perspectives and timelines in this one felt like we were really jumping around and did not flow cohesively. This format seemed to make the story more confusing, rather than adding perspective.
•
There are some BIG, tragic events that occur in this book—be sure to check the content warnings. To be honest, I’m not sure they are all necessary to get to the heart of this particular story. Some of them just felt throw in. A few of the big themes/events are never fully developed and just sort of fall off. These feel like they could be ideas for other, separate books.
•
Finally, some of the characters didn’t seem to match personality-wise with previous versions of themselves. Of course, people grow/change over time, but I didn’t find this kind of development well demonstrated.
•
I know people have absolutely loved J. Ryan Stradal’s other books, and I’d be willing to give those a try. If you’ve read this one or any of his others, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
•
Check out what I'm reading next on Instagram @LeahsLitReview!
•
I am a fan of books with multiple narrators and nonlinear timelines, and I read a lot of them. Unfortunately, the changing of perspectives and timelines in this one felt like we were really jumping around and did not flow cohesively. This format seemed to make the story more confusing, rather than adding perspective.
•
There are some BIG, tragic events that occur in this book—be sure to check the content warnings. To be honest, I’m not sure they are all necessary to get to the heart of this particular story. Some of them just felt throw in. A few of the big themes/events are never fully developed and just sort of fall off. These feel like they could be ideas for other, separate books.
•
Finally, some of the characters didn’t seem to match personality-wise with previous versions of themselves. Of course, people grow/change over time, but I didn’t find this kind of development well demonstrated.
•
I know people have absolutely loved J. Ryan Stradal’s other books, and I’d be willing to give those a try. If you’ve read this one or any of his others, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
•
Check out what I'm reading next on Instagram @LeahsLitReview!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Infertility, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Homophobia and Death of parent