Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis

11 reviews

jaenee's review against another edition

emotional tense 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

5.0

This is an amazing example of soft sci fi. It is definitely sci fi in its feel but doesn’t over explain technology. The reader is expected to accept that certain things just work.  I think the characters are compelling and the story itself is really paced well between multiple, converging POV’s. It also had some great twists and jaw dropping reveals. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

I think all the themes are handled well and while they are impactful, nothing was particularly graphic.

prunechips's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful sad tense slow-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: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and War

mogojojo1013's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

This was so amazingly good. All of these characters are so diverse and three dimensional. The pacing is really good and the writing is beautiful. The amount of character growth that happens is just astounding, and we get great commentary on things happening in our world through this sci-fi lense. We get great looks at mental illness and disability as well which I always love seeing. I will need to get the second and third books in this trilogy immediately so I can find out what happens next!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, and War

bookishjd's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Dysphoria

illogical's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, and Dysphoria

Minor: Child abuse and Transphobia

wellintendedbibliophile's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective 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

Diverse cast and a respectful approach to incorporating characters with disabilities, both mental and physical. This book is dark, but so well-thought out. I loved every character and appreciate how the author humanized each character.  This is still a top favorite. I need to read the sequel soon. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, and War

peach_pie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, and War

forthesanityof1's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Oh god did I love this book. The premise really caught me in the beginning and I love the way the author engaged with the world-building over the course of the book to build into the plot issues as well. The way the language with the names of the different races was created particularly stood out to me. The plot was super intriguing in a nice mix of political intrigue, war, and personal stakes that made it a page-turner. I loved the writing style along with the three perspectives utilized by the author. First Sister's POV was my favorite but Lito and Hiro's were also really well done. I also appreciated the overall queer-ness of the book and world. I like that the ending especially had a lot of impact with reveals about a certain character and what actually happened. If I wasn't exhausted, I could draw a lot of parallels to issues we see in our world with queer, women, and more specifically trans issues as well. I'm dying to get my hands on the second one once it's out in paperback. If there was one thing for me to criticize, it was that the pacing sometimes reflected the author's intention to set up for the rest of the trilogy in a way that was a touch obvious, but that's being super nit-picky. Also hoping for a poly relationship in the end, so fingers crossed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Mental illness specifically refers to the revelation that

the First Sister has DID or dissociative identity disorder due to her experiences and Lito deals with PTSD/flashbacks/panic attacks/reliving physical sensations

. I included tags about rape and sexual assault due to the

nature of the Sisterhood and the tasks they are expected to perform for those that want it regardless of the Sister's consent.

kimdalia's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Transphobia

bookswhitme's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, and Murder