Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

82 reviews

yikeslou's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring relaxing 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

5.0

i love this book too much for words so i'm simply going to say slayyyy bc it's what kizzy would want 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Grief

arinheck's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring relaxing 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Terminal illness, and War

Moderate: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Violence, Racial slurs, and Medical content

Minor: Ableism, Colonisation, Drug use, and Alcohol

violetends's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective 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

4.75

I read this with someone while we lived 2000km away from each other. We send each other voice memos with the latest chapter as well as reading to each other over the phone. And we finally finished it in the first days of being in the same space again. This book was perfect for this little 2-people-bookclub and I am very happy to have done this.

Overall, I am astounded that this is Becky Chambers' debut. The way in which she crafts the world with its advanced technology, complex social and political structures and numerous distinct species is so complex and well done. The plot is simultaneously wholesome and exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed this ride and I am a little sad to continue the second book away from the Wayfarer (if I understood correctly what the second book is about).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Terminal illness and War

beatriks's review

adventurous emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Xenophobia, and Physical abuse

Moderate: War

julieyael's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

This was a lovely comfort read. 
The plot is quite light and you should not expect too many twists, but the main focus of the book are the characters and the general atmosphere. 

I would definitely pick it up again to be amongst this crew. The sci-fi aspect is very interesting too, with good reflections on life and humanity. 
Becky Chambers was already an author I liked, as I read and loved To be Taught if Fortunate, but now she is definitely one of my favorites. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, War, Grief, and Death

decie's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Grief

Minor: War

anjasshelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Torture, Colonisation, Death, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Drug use

misty_kb's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Grief

Minor: Sexual content and Xenophobia

ekcd_'s review against another edition

lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.75

The characters are lovable but only because they designed to be lovable. As a result they come off as unrealistic and one dimensional. Even the cantankerous foil to the other sickly sweet personas on board is given a tragic backstory designed to inspire the reader to love him. 

It’s an incredibly slow book, plot wise, and the few plot events we do see dont make sense. The characters have odd reactions - socially and culturally. And god knows Becky Chambers lives to talk about how different all her aliens are. There is a weird fixation on sex and sexual differences in the book which could have been a fun exploration in sexuality if it was done well but instead it felt like she was patting herself on the back for coming up with such sexually diverse races/species. Several times in the book she says outright “yeah XYZ is so different from humans” and like that’s it. 

I feel like I read a different book than all the critics (formal and informal) who have such high praise. This read like a YA novel or children’s cartoon that feeds the reader emotions with a spoon. I’m fact, most of the world building in general is fed to the reader with a spoon- it’s explicit and heavy handed OR it’s nonsense words that are never explained or expanded on. It’s clear the author uses letters and characters who are librarians to shoehorn in world building she wasn’t creative enough to build into the narrative. No nuance, no complexity. Just a feel good mill, which I personally do not like. I want moral ambiguity and conflict in my space opera. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Police brutality, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcohol, War, Death, Genocide, and Classism

Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Blood

kassidyreads's review

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, War, Grief, and Terminal illness

Minor: Violence, Sexual content, and Drug use