Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Lakewood by Megan Giddings

12 reviews

killmoore_'s review

challenging dark medium-paced

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

2.5

I wanted to love this. It was an addictive read that fell flat for me. As stated in previous comments, I believe this would have been perfect as a novella, but as a full length novel it was lacking substance and depth, and was incredibly frustrating. 

There were a few moments that could have been pure horror, but Lena's need to be detached and emotionally void dampened the effect, which was disappointing. 

I'd recommend as a conversation starter for a book club, or someone looking for a truly interesting concept written as a "stuff happens" sandwich. It begins, stuff happens, then it ends. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Racism, Cancer, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Confinement, Blood, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Terminal illness

spineofthesaurus's review

tense

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Dysphoria, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Violence, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Racism, Self harm, Physical abuse, Torture, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Stalking, Abandonment, Murder, Classism, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Cancer, Drug abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Slavery, Vomit, Addiction, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Trafficking

Minor: Car accident, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

tigger89's review

dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

3.5

I picked this book up because I'd read and enjoyed The Women Could Fly last year, and was interested to see what else Giddings had written. It wasn't bad by any means, but I didn't enjoy it as much. I have a difficult time pinpointing what exactly my issue with it was. The characters were compelling, and I was invested in the setting, central problem, and mystery. I had no disagreement with the writing style or the pacing. It was just fine, and as much as I turn it over in my mind I can't articulate why it wasn't better.

This novel's strongest point were the characters, both Lena and her friends and family. I cared and worried about her, as I was watching her make mistakes that she knew were mistakes, yet felt desperate enough to pursue anyway. It was a disturbingly plausible situation, one that plays out — albeit with uncaring capitalism in place of conspiracy — all the time in this country. The experimental sections(for lack of a better term, if you know you know) were also very well-written, trippy and mind-bending but at the same time easily able to be followed. This story definitely put the psychological in the thriller, leaving you doubting every scene after a point.

If you're looking for an ending with answers, I'll be upfront with you: you're not gonna find any here. I personally thought it was a good ending, but it pretty much drops a bombshell on you and then leaves you hanging to form your own theory about what exactly happened. So, I recognize that's not everyone's cup of tea. After reflecting on it for a day or so, though, I found it to be appropriately horrific.

Spoiler

My interpretation was that the experiments would have continued, but for the fact that they got greedy and went too far. The water tasting bad? That was an experiment, but they made the mistake of testing not on their PoC test subjects but on the white residents of the town, which garnered the media attention that the previous protests against the experimental institute hadn't.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cancer, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Terminal illness, and Vomit

ericaburns1's review

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Cool concept and themes. Unsatisfying ending with no real conclusion.  No questions fully answered. I don’t necessarily want everything spelled out for me, but I wanted more to the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Body horror, Racism, Terminal illness, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, and Torture

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

pucksandpaperbacks's review against another edition

Despite the few HP references, I really enjoyed this story and audiobook. It's very haunting and had me gasping. Well done, can't wait to read more from this author! So glad I finally got around to reading this. 

Read for Blackoween 2022

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Grief, Racism, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness

HP References,

helhas3letters's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Very readable. The plot hooked me completely and despite a few awkward turns of phrase, I raced through this one.
My main gripe, however, is that I felt the ending was rushed and left too open-ended. I wanted more concrete answers and explanations as to why half the events in the book occurred. I understand that a lot of modern fiction leaves things up to interpretation for the reader, but in this case it felt less 'up to interpretation' and more 'couldn't be bothered thinking of specific reasons why specific things happened'.
The ending was also unfortunately semi-spoiled for me by a way too on-the-nose and frankly reductive pull quote on the cover of the book. It was from Essence and read:

Spoiler

"Reminiscent of Jordan Peele's terrifying film Get Out."

Spoiler

If you've read the book, you'll know what I mean when I say that reading that quote essentially told me the entire ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Blood, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Death of parent, Medical content, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Cancer, Gore, Death, Colonisation, Torture, Racism, and Murder

Minor: Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Stalking, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

srhi96's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, and Torture

Moderate: Grief, Violence, Cancer, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Blood

Minor: Addiction, Vomit, and Excrement

raebies_03's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I don't have a lot of thoughts about this book. Obviously the content is horrific and is a reflection of how society treats bipoc people to this day.

The writing intrigued me throughout the book. Grabbing my interest and dropping it here and there. Overall I'm just not sure how I feel about it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Terminal illness, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Body horror

Minor: Death of parent and Cancer

mar's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Gore, Blood, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Death, Torture, and Medical content

Moderate: Vomit, Grief, Confinement, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Terminal illness

cleater65's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was GRIPPING! As soon as I picked it up I couldn't put it down. It's complex in how many interwoven issues are covered, and alternates between uneasy and horrific. I am excited to read more of this author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, and Torture

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Cancer, Murder, and Terminal illness