Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Phantom Limb by Lucinda Berry

4 reviews

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

not quite a thriller and the plot and twists were incredibly predictable. however, it was still relatively interesting to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

lbarnhill3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

I’m giving it a 4 because it was well written. The imagery, the dialogue, the unreliable narrator was very well done. But I really didn’t like this book. Spoilers ahead

initially I thought perhaps Elizabeth had dissociative identity disorder and her twin Emily wasn’t actually a real person, just another personality due to the MC’s childhood trauma. That would have been fantastic to go with, although predictable. Then I bought the whole “Emily died years before” thing and I thought, ok this tracks. But the twist at the end of Elizabeth ACTUALLY being Emily and the rationale behind why she assumed Elizabeth’s identity just left me unimpressed.

I really didn’t like the portrayal of anorexia in the book. While the side characters weren’t the focus, it really bothered me the way Rose’s character and her treatment were written. I’ve never been in an inpatient psychiatry setting outside of my rotation in nursing school, but I did spend 16 weeks in treatment for my own eating disorder at a ED facility and most of those interactions for her wouldn’t have flown and definitely weren’t conducive to recovery. But I guess that was the point. I don’t know. The whole story just felt a little gross having been written by a former psychologist & child trauma researcher. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Medical trauma

hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

2.5

Not horrible but very predictable, literally called the twists from the very beginning. One of the better Lucinda Berry books I’ve read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Torture, Trafficking, and Car accident

Minor: Vomit

nicole_cob_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail