Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

33 reviews

lovelyandmorbid's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

Almost poetic, the defitintion of the fanfic tag "crack taken seriously", I thought it would be ridiculous then sad but its pretty upsetting the whole time and the humor comes out in small bits. Although completely different stories, tonally it reminded me of In the Dreamhouse, while that book achieves a lot more, this book feels like it cut from the same cloth in terms of style. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, and Medical trauma

emily3954's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, and Terminal illness

veronica214's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

 It's almost feels as if a novel was written by Wes Anderson. Quirky, some unique formatting, and thoughtfully written. The story alternates timelines so there is a lot of back-and-forth. I wasn't a fan of the ending, but I loved everything else about the story.

Wren's husband is diagnosed with a mutation that turns him into a great white shark. In this alternate world, people can have genetic illnesses that turn them into various animals. Wren and Lewis have to accept that their lives will change. Soon, Lewis won't be able to communicate or remember Wren. This is a story of adapting and moving on. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal death and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Violence and Suicide attempt

marmoo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

 This book wasn’t for me, but I can tell that it’s for someone. Try this as a litmus test:

“What if the town is made of stories?” Margaret suggested in a crisp lightbulb moment, the kind of perfect and complete idea Lewis knew came only a few time in a lifetime.

If your heart swelled at the perfect and complete idea of community building through storytelling, you’ll probably like this novel. If you rolled your eyes a little and flashbacked to every unoriginal Oscars acceptance speech about the power of stories… hello, come sit by me. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Grief, and Pregnancy

lmszalay's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Suicide and Pregnancy

harrirl0's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death

dexlud's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad fast-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

Oh my god. Shark Heart by Emily Habeck is possibly the most beautiful, tender writing I’ve read in my life. The story woven throughout these pages is split and muddled around and yet it is still a beautiful one none the less. We follow so many different people, all of which contribute to Wren, our main character, who went from a hiding girl to a strong woman.

There was pregnancy in this book, which had been hinted at for a while, but is still a surprise.

I believe the entire point of the book is to be a sort of comparison against dementia, especially with how the mutation progresses. The parallels are uncanny and it almost definitely reminds me of it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

errie's review against another edition

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent

marmelb's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Pregnancy

burnourhistory's review against another edition

emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abortion