Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison

21 reviews

hurlyburlywitch's review

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

This was dark, and made my insides roil. I found the protagonist compelling, though some of her choices didnt particularly resonate with me. 
Several plot points hit me like a gut punch, but in the end the plot felt rushed, like they'd run out of book to struggle in, rather than running out of struggle. 
One thing that was missing for me was the acknowledgement of trans people, and how they were impacted by a virus that was more deadly for women. In fact, they might have held some clue- was the virus more deadly based on about organs, or hormones, or purely capacity for pregnancy? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit

tr4shc4n's review

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Biphobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Abortion

reading_rainbows's review against another edition

adventurous dark relaxing

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

I listened to this straight and stayed up 2 hours past my bedtime without any idea of how late it was!   I'm generally a fan of post-apocalyptic stories and I really enjoyed this take from this bi/pansexual woman, a reproductive healthcare professional, perspective.  

***Note about CWs: bad things are seen as bad by narrator, and hard topics didn't feel hopeless***

My main content warnings:
Lots of dead bodies, 
Miscarriages/stillborns,
Sexual assault(1 in first person) most are mentions after,
Killing(self defense),
Child abuse(LDS child bride)
Women are traded by men for sex

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Blood, Trafficking, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Biphobia, Abortion, and Alcohol

abbacirc's review

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Infidelity, and Abortion

sporks_n_cookies's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual violence, Abortion, and Murder

v_nerdbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

inky_cap's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Abortion

katrinarose's review

dark reflective 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

4.0

Extremely bleak and tough read but I could not put it down. I loved the character of the unnamed midwife and the how well the author also developed even minor characters as they appeared. I also like the alternating style of her journal and omnipresent narrative. I was taken aback at first when we learned about characters and events that the midwife did not know about but it was satisfying (although sad). I like that the author didn’t shy away from the brutal realities of this post-apocalyptic world, and didn’t sugarcoat her view of human nature, as depressing as it was. This book is definitely not for everyone (between the triggering content, narrative style, and somewhat bare plot) but I really liked it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Abortion

kat1105's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

batcaves's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail