Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

We Are the Light by Matthew Quick

10 reviews

laheath's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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

4.0

Emotional story of a town, one man in particular, trying to heal after a tragic event. Told through his letters to his Jungian analyst, the grief and devastation are palpable, but the story is ultimately hopeful in its telling of forgiveness and rebuilding.

Strong trigger warning for this book but worth it if you can get through the difficult material. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Mass/school shootings, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual content

katiieecat's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Grief

gondorgirl's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings and Grief

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Suicide

girrllie's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

Beautiful and sad. If you’re sensitive, be careful. It gave me nightmares. But Jung would say, “Let’s take at look at them.“

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Suicide

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Toxic relationship

shyleek's review

challenging emotional reflective tense 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 have to admit that the writing style threw me for a loop and I didn't know how I was going to feel about it. The more I read though, the more I wanted to read. 

This book deals with some deep concepts including loss, grief, healing, and family trauma just to name a few. It will take you on an emotional roller coaster but it is worth the read. 

There are some big triggers including murder and gun violence. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Child abuse, Blood, Violence, Self harm, and Emotional abuse

lindseygilger's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Gun violence, Murder, Child abuse, and Stalking

katergirl12's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

Despite difficult circumstances described in the book, the real heart of the story is about recovery and hope. That art, kindness, connection with others can heal us from even the deepest wounds.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Mass/school shootings, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Emotional abuse

oceanwriter's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

3.5

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this. I loved the notion of a book that included the presence of guardian angels, so I took the chance.

After a tragic incident in town, Lucas is grieving the death of his wife and battling the survivor's guilt that goes along with it. The way he copes is by writing a series of letters to his former analyst. These letters go unreplied, but he persists. In the meantime, he befriends Eli, a young man Lucas finds camping in his yard. They forge a friendship and begin a project together that further helps the healing process.

I enjoyed the structure of the book as well as the psychology involved. It was also an interesting interpretation of angels and how so often when we lose someone close to us there's a part of them that we hang on to. It manifests itself in different ways for each of us. As for the story itself, something was lacking for me. I didn't remain invested all the way through. Still, I enjoyed it perhaps more than I thought I would. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Suicide

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Emotional abuse, Self harm, and Child abuse

readingwithtrey's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

After an act of gun violence upends his small town and takes the life of his wife, Lucas Goodgame is struggling to put the pieces back together. Those in the town of Majestic, PA tell Lucas that he’s a hero, though he’s unable to see it. It takes the development of an unlikely relationship that puts in motion something that will change the grief and healing process not only for Lucas, but also for everyone in the town. 

Written as an epistolary novel, we get an in depth view of Lucas’s mental state through letters he is writing to his former psychoanalyst following the tragedy. Although it’s not actually said, the reader can get the sense from very early on that, understandably, Lucas is not okay. The letters take the reader through so many emotions. They are utterly heartbreaking, but they also hold a sense of hope and challenge the reader to think deeply about their understanding of grief, healing, love, and resilience.

It’s difficult to put my feelings regarding this book into words that I know would do this book justice. This is not one to go into lightly but is one that is very, very important. I am going to be completely honest with you, it took me a few hours to read the last 25% of the book because it is incredibly devastating (might want to have tissues close by). You will certainly want to be mentally prepared going into this one, but I do highly recommend it. 

5/5 Stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence

Moderate: Death, Mass/school shootings, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, and Suicide

Minor: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

elook's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

I love Matthew Quick's writing style. Simultaneously dreamy and cutting, I thought the epistolary format worked particularly well to give us insight into Lucas' mental state. It hid enough from the reader to make some of the revelations towards the end surprising. In a time where communities feel more separated then ever, it was wonderful to read the story of one that managed to come together after a tragic event. I did dock a star because I felt that the female characters in the book fell a little flat, particularly Lucas' friend Jill. Overall, a very emotional and inspiring read. Thank you to Netgalley for the advance ARC.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Mass/school shootings

Minor: Child abuse