Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

An Ordinary Wonder by Buki Papillon

4 reviews

somelesbianwriter's review

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Ableism, Child death, Miscarriage, and Suicide

megelizabeth's review against another edition

2.5

Ugh, this book had so much potential and was then so disappointing (for me anyway). It started off strong and there are definitely aspects I really liked and appreciated - the key ones being the dream-like atmosphere, several of the relationships, the conversations around the intersex experience, and the coming-of-age thread to the narrative. It also does an excellent job of portraying the experience of missing out on girlhood, and that element truly broke me. 

However, several plot strands develop which I just wasn't a fan of and which I found to really take away from the wider themes, and I particularly despised how it's portrayed as completely fine for an adult man to go after a fifteen-year-old girl. And, while I did like the dreaminess of the writing, it really threw me off that this is marketed as an adult book and yet reads entirely like YA. Like, literally just write an actual YA book!!! So, unfortunately, this did end up being a miss for me overall, which is such a shame as it touches on some really important themes and did have such great potential. :(

(I would also strongly urge that, if you're reading this review and still wanting to give this book a go, PLEASE check the content warnings - it's extremely heavy in MANY different ways!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

quinnjuliac's review

challenging dark emotional funny 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

4.0

I listened to the audio book and am so glad I did. The narrator was wonderful and really brought Lori/Oto to life. It’s a very troubling story of emotional and physical abuse and abandonment of a child, but it is also a really wonderful story of how just a few affirming adults can change the course of a child’s life. I am a nurse and was so struck by the interaction the main character has with the school nurse as a child and what a massive impact that had on them. The characters will definitely be sticking with me!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Outing, Abandonment, and Dysphoria

woweewhoa's review

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Medical content, and Dysphoria

Minor: Vomit, Trafficking, and Pregnancy