Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

35 reviews

laheath's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

Although I had fantastic English teachers in high school, I remember the study of The Scarlet Letter being dry though the story was pretty good overall.  This book imagines the origin of Hawthorne's inspiration for that book.  With the inclusion of such details as strong female characters, references to the Salem witch trials and the Underground Railroad, and issues such as classism, equality, and freedom, this is a very interesting story of a woman making her way in the world with her own gifts.

Unfortunately, once again, the audiobook does not include the author's notes, which I've been told detail her research.  These should never be left out of audiobooks!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, and Classism

espressoreader's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Racism, Violence, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Deportation

aqtbenz's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction

Moderate: Slavery and Violence

Minor: Pregnancy

bookswithbront's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

This book tried to do a few too many things and didn’t develop some of its ideas as fully as I’d like. But I still really enjoyed my time with the story. And I have a feeling that Isobel’s colors and the way the women came together to help each other survive are going to stick with me for a long time.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Trafficking, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, and Classism

Minor: Miscarriage and Forced institutionalization

maddb_96's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Slavery, and Pregnancy

kates_books's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious 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

3.5

I didn’t love this book, but it was an interesting concept. I enjoyed the light touches of magical realism, the range within the historical accounts (Scotland, the Salem witch trials, Americas slavery, etc), and the message of the power possible when women come together. I think it was an honest reflection of the darkness and cruelty of men. However, it moved pretty slowly for me. It really picked up in the last third but getting there was tedious. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Slavery, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

bootsmom3's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape

lindsayerin's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Pregnancy

miss_vonnegut's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

This was such a beautifully written book. I don't usually listen to fiction audiobooks, but I'm so glad I listened to this one. (Thank you to libro.fm and the publisher for the ARC!) I'm sure reading the physical book would have been great as well, but if you're looking for a good fictional audiobook, I would highly recommend this. I love that this novel is set in the 1800s (with some flashbacks to the 1600s) and deals explicitly with racism and sexism. I'm a white woman and it's entirely possible that I missed things but, to me, it read as intersectionally feminist, with women supporting each other and acknowledging the ways that racism and sexism intersect to affect black women differently. Very lite spoiler:

As a heads up, the main character (a white woman) is not fully aware of all the impacts of racism at the start of the book and she learns as it progresses.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Slavery

Moderate: Drug abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Death of parent and Colonisation

tacoshark's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

I listened to this while knitting on my massive shawl and it was a wonderful way to consume this story. It’s a fascinating book, really rooted in history and place, to the extent that I found myself looking up locations in Salem for context. There were a few slightly laggy moments, but overall I thought was was really beautifully done and it was excellently read, too. I’ve never actually read the Scarlet Letter, but now I might need to. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Slavery, Violence, Grief, and Pregnancy