Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner

11 reviews

lucibello's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I could hardly put this one down. I found the story enthralling, and I enjoyed the historical aspects as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Terminal illness

sarahflanders's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

wellreadmegs's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

Once I got into this book I couldn't stop reading. I wanted to find out what happened. There aren't many books I've read about the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake but I found it fascinating to learn about. San Francisco is a city I truly love and enjoy so reading about its history was even more exciting. 

This book tackled motherhood, justice, and how neither of those things is as black and white as you may think. All the characters had some morally gray moments - some more the others and it made you think about what you would do in that situation. 

The world is complex and so is this book - even in the early 1900s especially for women. Susan Meissner continues to be an auto-read author and I love falling down the rabbit hole of her books. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, and Forced institutionalization

meganroeckel's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Miscarriage

ltulisiak's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

3.75 stars. This book was a very quick read (listen) with enough drama and emotion to keep me hooked throughout. It centers around a young lady who is an Irish immigrant who initially lived in NY, but chose to answer a mail-order bride advertisement to move to San Fransisco to take care of a widower and his young daughter. However, not everything is as it appears. There are secrets to behold from every adult in this book. Ultimately it ends up being a story of strong motherly love, female relationships/friendships, and sometimes having to leave trauma or tragedy behind to start anew. 

This is not one of my all-time favorites, and realistically I will probably have to re-read my review and the synopsis in a year or more in order to jog my memory as to what this was about. But I was looking for something quick and enjoyable, and this did just the trick. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Child death and Miscarriage

bookmaven17's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infidelity and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Child death, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

This story centers around the history of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The main characters contend with injuries, encampments for the displaced, and the fear and uncertainty surrounding escaping the city following a natural disaster.

ashleysbookthoughts's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

This book was perfectly fine. It was a fast, fairly compelling read, though it often felt incredibly predictable and rather generic. The foreshadowing and allusions to the narrator’s past are so heavy handed that nothing comes as a surprise and at times I wondered why it was taking so long to get to the obvious conclusion. During the last hundred pages, I often wondered why the book was still going on, as most things seemed fairly wrapped up. Again, it was fine, not particularly bad, but not particularly good either. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

gloriazthompson's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Graphic: Death and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

steffany's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Domestic abuse

teacupsandfirereads's review

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I had never read a book by Susan Meissner prior to this one. It is evident she is a talented writer. The synopsis leads you to believe it is about the 1906 earth quake in San Francisco that devastated the city.  It is about that, but also so much more. It is about belonging, what makes a family and so , so much more. I have to say I definitely was not expecting where this story went, but it ended up being alright with me that it did that. The characters are richly developed and the plot supports great and interesting detail without being over powering. I have to say at first I wasn't jiving with this book, I self it dragged a bit, but then around thirty percent, I found my rhythm with it and finished it before I knew it. It was nice to read a historical fiction not surrounding WW I or II and a book that carried both a historical aspect and broader story, which in this case held much mystery and intrigue. I would definitely recommend this to historical fiction fans.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Death of parent