Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue

89 reviews

mrkthrnmln's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this. There is a lot of pretty gruesome birth stuff, so not sure I would recommend it for everyone, but it is super interesting to learn about this moment in time. I just wish there had been more about the doctor - the blurb makes it seem like the three women would be equally important, and she is really just a side character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical content, and Pregnancy

yayathegreat38's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Slavery, Religious bigotry, War, and Injury/Injury detail

nikkilerae's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

The Pull of the Stars
By Emma Donoghue
4.5 ⭐️
No Spoilers

This book is written from the perspective of a 30 year old unmarried catholic nurse in Ireland during the Spanish Flu epidemic. She worked in the makeshift fever ward for expecting mothers. Her story tells of the hard work to try and keep the people she nursed alive when the flu was taking many souls daily. The stress of being understaffed was insurmountable but she trudges on. She also has to deal with the Protestant/catholic rift in an unbiased manner, which is pretty hard to do when you were raised from birth to believe certain things. This story takes place over just a few days and really gives you a strong idea of what it would’ve been like to work along side Nurse Powers. 

Tissues will be needed - This story was so well written and I loved it, but there are several scenes that triggered strong emotions. The only reason I gave this book 4.5 stars instead of 5 is because I felt like the end was a bit rushed. The ending was still amazing, but there was potential there to extend the story a bit. 

If you love strong women and historical fiction this book is for you! Even if you just love strong women characters. This book is excellent and I highly recommend it. Please read the Trigger Warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ilikenaps's review against another edition

sad 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

midwesternviolet's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

amber2020's review against another edition

emotional informative 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, and Medical trauma

aliterarygoodtime's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Classism

a_mckeever's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and War

Minor: Gun violence and Fire/Fire injury

katiewhocanread's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child death

ginabyeg's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No

5.0

This book will definitely give you a taste of nursing in the early 1900’s. Story is fast-paced, engaging from the start, told from the perspective of a still-single nurse in the maternity ward during the 1918-pandemic. Some parts get rather graphic. There are themes of life/death, trauma, and religion. While the book was published in 2020, the author had finished it before that time. I find this makes the character’s insights in the book even more powerful, somehow, and the parallels between then and now extra startling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic