Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle

16 reviews

himynameismichael923's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

The strength of this book is its characters. I couldn’t help but adore so many of them. It also has a really interesting plot. Man locked up in a mental hospital, even though he has no business being there. It turns out the hospital is haunted by some sort of devil. Interesting enough, but what I didn’t expect was how much of a critique of the mental institutions in America. That’s a story worth telling and I appreciated that the author went there. The downfall is how much the middle portion of the book drags. It’s way too long, and feels like the author had a minimum page quota he had to pass. The beginning and ending are fantastic, it’s just the middle that brings the book down. I definitely still think it’s worth the read, for the commentary on how we treat mental disabilities in the country. It’s heartbreaking, and the author captures that perfectly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

kylieqrada's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny 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

3.5

I love Victor LaValle’s writing, and the commentary in this one was super strong. It just seemed a bit long, though it kept my attention throughout. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Ableism, Racism, and Self harm

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

wrestleacademic's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Body horror

babyfacedoldsoul's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

This book was extremely well done. However the subject matter itself (forced institutionalization) was brutal so sometimes I needed to take small breaks between sections. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Suicide, and Forced institutionalization

daniielaph's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

A wonderful book. I 100% recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide attempt

shrekfanclub's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Deportation

walrus420's review against another edition

• 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: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Police brutality

elsebeok's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Blood

Minor: Self harm, Sexual content, and Deportation

shannonbauchat's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual assault

unboxedjack's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Death, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism