Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

66 reviews

theredheadbaker's review against another edition

challenging tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Abortion

Moderate: Gun violence and Rape

peeled_grape's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Strong character development? No

1.0

White feminist, transphobic copaganda babyyyy

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Abortion

franknovels's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Miscarriage, and Abortion

jahalahkay's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

This one is a heart-wrencher! A gunman enters a women’s reproductive health services center, begins shooting, and then holds the staff and patients hostage. When the hostage negotiator shows up on the scene, he discovers his daughter is inside the clinic. Told in a backward structure, this story starts at the climax and works its way backward to give us a glimpse into why each person was at the center on that fateful day. 
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I actually listened to this on Libby but in the middle of reading it I found a signed copy at Half Priced Books…so obviously I had to scoop it up because I love Jodi Picoult. 🤪 While I loved the backwards structure concept, it mixed with so many POVs made this a harder to follow read for me. I still really enjoyed it and would recommend it. Definitely a thought-provoking book covering a hard topic (but what else is new with Jodi Picoult?). Loved hearing about her research behind writing the book at the end! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Abortion

lcl_reads's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.0

Typically, I enjoy Jodi Picoult, but this one just didn't work for me. She attempts to show there are two sides to every story, but for me, reproductive justice is just not a two sides issue. It is an issue of recognizing the humanity, value, and worthiness of those who bear children and their right to control their bodies and is rooted in historical ways groups have exerted bodily control over others. I recognize this is my reader bias and cognitively I appreciate that this is part of Picoult's writing style and that this book isn't for me.

I found the backwards timeline confusing for character development and made the plot boring and anticlimactic. I kept mixing up character details because of the way the information is doled out. Additionally, I did not find the end of the book very climatic or interesting because so much information is given upfront.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Pregnancy

bertrandlm's review against another edition

emotional slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Medical content, and Abortion

Moderate: Rape

mkromas's review

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, and Pregnancy

bookchellf's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Gun violence, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

nicoleolander's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

christiekaty's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

The pace and timeline sequence of this book was too much for me mixed in with the heavy emotional content. Very powerful book with important subject matter.