Reviews

The Pharmacist by Rachelle Atalla

amyapple's review against another edition

3.0

3.25
Interesting and thought provoking read. It wasn’t what I expected. I’d love to discuss this in a book club forum.

The writing is good however it does not use any punctuation for speech - which was hard for me to grasp to begin with but then I got used to it. Quarter of a star has been lost this element. I do not see how it improves my reading experience or adding to the story.

janey's review against another edition

4.0

Claustrophobic is a good descriptor here, whoa.

erinmur's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

natashamia's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

el_viral's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

I enjoyed this book a great deal, the small world that was created was very believable, and left you wondering what was actually outside the bunker. I did, however, find the ending flat. I know we don't always get a fully rounded out ending with all the loose ends tied up, but this felt like it just stopped, as if Atalla had just run out of things to say. Overall though, still a very enjoyable read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Murder

celiapowell's review against another edition

4.0

For some reason I started this thinking it was a psychological thriller - and it's very much not. A dystopian story about the grim life of Wolfe, a pharmacist in a bunker filled with people who all seem to be miserable to varying degrees - it was really great (and not as bleak as I've made it sound. Well, pretty bleak. In a good way!)

zoer03's review against another edition

3.0

It’s a pretty decent dystopian novel, only it just felt a bit stuck, I found myself getting a bit tired with the main character and not really understanding why she was doing stuff. Like there wasn’t really any reason why she couldn’t go “across the boarder” and for some people it seemed normal. I feel like it was trying so hard to be something that I am sorry but it didn’t quite succeed for me. I was gripped in a way, but I am still just as confused at what I have read as I was at the beginning. It’s a good book just it didn’t quite hit it off with me.

eilidhstewartbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No

3.5

chaotic_wholesome's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

umbranrealness's review against another edition

5.0

Very much enjoyed this dystopian novel - I really cared about the cast of characters, and the dire circumstances they found themselves in felt believable. The prose style is very straightforward which is such a hard thing to do, but made it feel all the more real. 5/5, sped through it in a few days.