Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi

10 reviews

folkofthebook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

“And it’s not insane to imagine that sometimes even horrible people are searching for a way out of their own darkness.”

this one gets wild. finding out just how fucked up the parents of the reestablishment really are and how deep this all runs is a mindfuck. this is definitely the darkest book of series yet, largely in part to revelations involving

juliette's/elle's sister, emmaline

. ngl, kinda fucked me up, i wasn't really prepared for that.

we get more nazeera, who i LOVE. and so does kenji 🤭

“And I don’t think you’re stupid,” she says.
Wrong. I’m definitely stupid. So stupid. I can’t even think right now.
“Okay,” I say stupidly.

i continue to champion juliette and kenji's best friendship and the budding bromance of aaron and kenji.

Kenji looks like he might be choking. “A cartoon?” he says, outraged. “Tangled is not a cartoon. Tangled is one of the greatest movies of all time. It’s about fighting for freedom and true love.”

juliette and aaron >>>>>>>> (obvi) these two have been through so much shit my god i can't wait for their happy ending, bc they certainly deserve it after all of this.

This is, after all, what we’re fighting for, isn’t it? A second chance at joy.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Blood

pearlygirl3's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

this book was definitely a lot to process. the connections between everything and clarification of the past look a bit to think about. there were some disturbing scenes, but at the end led to some of the sweetest scenes in the whole series. characters are more flushed out and it has really set the stage for the final book.

aaron being so vulnerable is so cute, and how they kept finding each other! even him and kenji kinda get along now. ella's parents are actually the worst, but i hope Emmaline either gets piece, or healed. it'd be nice for ella to have her sister back.

overall a nice continuation of the series and i can't wait for everyone to have a happy ending in the next book. hopefully aaron and 'juliette' will get to be together without all their other responsibilities. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical trauma

Minor: Sexual content

winterwriter_9's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexual content, Child abuse, and Gun violence

proudtobeabookaholic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

Juliette thought she had beaten The Reestablishment and killed its leader. That she finally had regained control of her life. But nothing is as it seems, and one lie after another comes to the surface. 

It's been several years since I read the latest book in this series, so no real surprise I didn't remember everything that's happened. Little bits of information makes me recollect most of it, but some parts remain forgotten. It was still very easy to get into this futuristic world again and most of the characters I remember really well. It was nice to see Juliette, Warner, Kenji and the others again!

I have to say that some scenes were quite dreadful to read. How Juliette's and Warner's parents experiment on and treat them - like they're not even humans... It's hard to believe that anyone can do such things, but at the same time Mafi makes it believable. I'm grateful the book ends in a positive spirit, although we know it's not over yet!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Torture, and Confinement

strawberrycookies's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Medical trauma

safety_pin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Murder, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Blood, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, War, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Hate crime, Gun violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Classism, Homophobia, Outing, Cursing, and Transphobia

themoodreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Child abuse, Medical content, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Confinement, Death, and Mental illness

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Medical content, Abandonment, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Drug abuse

eveleam's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Could not put this book down I finished it in a day I think it’s my favorite one in the series 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Torture

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, and Panic attacks/disorders

zc2's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

3.0

Loved this one. An emotional rollercoaster.  The ending gives me peace of mind

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Torture, Trafficking, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, War, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cursing, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

sarahpierce's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Medical trauma

Moderate: Murder, Violence, and Suicide