Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Varkaus by Ann-Helén Laestadius

16 reviews

nialiversuch's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Dementia, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Death, Gore, Grief, Racism, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Sexism

meroth07's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Mental illness and Suicide

vixenreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

As important as it is gripping, this book sums up what it means to advocate for yourself, your culture, your mental health, and your own land without wallowing into sentimentality. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Death, Bullying, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Animal death, and Blood

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Alcoholism, Classism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Sexism, Stalking, Dementia, and Addiction

Minor: Car accident, Miscarriage, and Vomit

Be wary of police negligence, slander, school yard fights, property damage, adults threatening children, an attempt at a home invasion, funerals, and PTSD.

mpswans1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Suicide, Hate crime, Grief, Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Pregnancy, Murder, Bullying, Blood, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Torture, Racial slurs, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexism and Dementia

hootreads's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Mental illness and Dementia

linnypesto's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide, Alcoholism, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

strwberidaquiri's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

Tragic and sad, paints vivid picture of what happens when hate gets in the way and is passed down through generations. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Animal death, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Racism, and Hate crime

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective 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

 Stolen is set north of the Arctic Circle in a Sámi community. The story unfolds in two sections. In the first Elsa is nine years old and witnesses the illegal killing of one of her reindeer, an event that traumatises her. The second section is ten years later, when Elsa is trying to find her own way in the Sámi community but coming up against sexism and ingrained traditions. Reindeer poaching continues to be a major problem and then fate provides Elsa with the opportunity to confront the man who killed her reindeer a decade earlier.

This book provided me an opportunity to learn about the Sámi, their way of life and the obstacles, difficulties, and prejudices they face, via an engaging and absorbing story. I loved the specificity of the story and how immersive it was, never pandering to readers like me who have little to no prior knowledge of Sámi. Having said that, one of the things that struck me was the universality of some of Elsa’s experiences, particularly her interactions with the police. Their total lack of interest in dealing with the illegal killing of reindeer, effectively a hate crime against Sámi, was infuriating and remarkably similar to what I know of police behaviour with other indigenous and marginalised communities worldwide.

Elsa was a fabulous character, both as a young girl and then as a feisty young woman. Robert, while not a likeable character, was so well-drawn. Sadly I’ve met many men just like him. The sense of place was strong and I think the author did a great job portraying how vulnerable Elsa, her family, and the rest of her Sámi community felt, with their way of life being threatened both directly and indirectly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Racism

Moderate: Mental illness and Suicide

marionlundqvist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Grief, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

affiknittyreads's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Gun violence, Animal death, Suicide, Hate crime, Bullying, and Animal cruelty