Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak

24 reviews

cnannery19's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

arayo's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Incest, Transphobia, Trafficking, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Self harm, and Pregnancy

deanna_c's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

A really poignant and moving story about the importance of friendship and finding your own way in life in spite of your beginnings. I really felt for Tequila Leila and I wanted so badly for a twist of fate where

she doesn’t in fact end up dead in the bottom of a trash bin, but of course this isn’t possible given that she’s already dead when the novel begins.

I really love Shafak’s style - which has only gotten better with each novel shes written in my opinion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Trafficking, and Murder

Minor: Pregnancy

katrinarose's review

dark emotional 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? No

4.0

Shafak does such an a wonderful job of setting the scene in Istanbul and the other various settings in Turkey. Her way of bringing a character to life in just a chapter is amazing, and I felt so much for Leila that I became sadder each chapter knowing that she had died. The character study and friendship development is definitely the most important and impactful part of this book, not the plot. It’s a beautiful and tragic story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

e11en's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Rape, Self harm, Violence, Murder, and Pregnancy

daniellekat's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.75

I loved part one (Mind) and thought this was on its way to 5 stars, but parts 2 (Body) and 3 (Soul) lost me. Shafak is a masterful writer and her descriptive style perfectly suits the novel's time and setting. My main criticism with this is the same for my last Shafak read (The Island of Missing Trees) - too much information is given to the reader. Especially in Part 2, there were too many perspectives and explicit details that I thought would have been more powerful left untold. I loved the found family aspect of this book and the way their grief manifested among them. I wish we were given more time with each of the friends but overall this was another well balanced blend of history and fiction. I highly recommend checking the content warnings on this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Self harm, Transphobia, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

sweeettea's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

cyden's review against another edition

emotional 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Hate crime, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Self harm, Trafficking, and Grief

Minor: Police brutality and Pregnancy

uhhjeepers's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

*for school*

This could be recency bias, but this might be the best book I’ve ever read for school. It was an extremely difficult read at points, but I feel so rewarded by the experience regardless. 

Leila and her friends are characters that I truly believe will stick with me forever. This book is filled with difficult topics, but it is also filled with so much heart. Love and friendship seep out of this book. 

I’m left with an overwhelming feeling of appreciation for the people in my life. Nobody is companionless, and this book forces you to know that, even when you’re at your loneliest.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Trafficking, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Pregnancy

hanami_sui's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Self harm, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail