Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

87 reviews

erinreadsbooks's review

challenging emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Vomit

csl4240's review

emotional inspiring medium-paced

5.0

I absolutely loved this book! It really surprised me as I thought initially that I may not even be into it all that much but needed to read it as it was so popular. So glad I was wrong and just want there to be so much more on Elizabeth, 630, and Mad! May be one of my favorite books actually! Everyone needs an Elizabeth in their lives. Someone who just isn’t afraid to say how it is, what needs to be done and just encourage you to do your best. She is a strong female lead who is not afraid of breaking the standards at the time, even even in current times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Suicide

Minor: Bullying, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

sandysmith's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny informative inspiring 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

4.5

A really enjoyable historical fiction of  woman scientist Elizabeth Zott who faces misogyny in the 1950's/1960's. A scientist who does not want to be married or have children falls in love with Calvin who dies leaving her single and pregnant. She had her research stolen and is fired from her scientist job, but lands herself a TV Cooking show that empowers women. I particularly liked the multiple points of view, especially the dog six thirty  Great stuff

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Sexism, Bullying, Car accident, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Abandonment

tiffanysmith's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

I wanted to like this, but I have to admit, this one fell flat for me for a few reasons. The read was quite tedious at times and I think the author was trying extend a sense of female empowerment, but it didn’t feel authentic. There was little depth to the story—no true plot or character growth to captivate the reader. The characters were stiff and the feminist morality was not relatable.

I think it would have benefited the story to truly allow the characters to exist in their space. I kept forgetting that the storyline takes place in the 1950s, only to be reminded by Elizabeth saying something completely absurd. I want to be immersed in the time era and I want characters with complexity, faults, and things that make them grow. 

There was very little world-building and I felt a big disconnect with the characters—a beautiful chemist who makes chemistry a successful cooking show, a pre-schooler who acts like a 35 year genius, and the dog POV was a little strange. The nerd stereotype was over utilized and it was challenging to emphasize with the characters. 

The love story between them didn’t seem very genuine. They met and they fell in love. It didn’t seem to go much deeper than that. 

Also, the religious element threw me off. It was very emphasized, but it didn’t do anything to propel the plot line or character growth. It just felt uncomfortable.

There was some good parts of the book, but I did not laugh at the wittiness and I was unable to relate to the characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Abandonment, Bullying, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Car accident, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Cursing

kalla's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring 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? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Bullying, Abandonment, Suicide, Death of parent, Death, and Car accident

Minor: Vomit

gibbse97's review

emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape

Moderate: Death of parent and Bullying

Minor: Gun violence

mpeach's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Bullying, Car accident, Deadnaming, Death, Grief, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Rape, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Suicide

eccentric_kam's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

There are many parts of this book that I enjoyed and even laughed through and then there were very few parts that I had to suffer through. While I mostly enjoyed Elizabeth's character I found her incredibly dense for someone that was a genius. Despite that I really enjoyed reading about a woman, even if she is fictional, challenging the status quo of the 1950s. One of my favorite things about this book definitely has to be the dog. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Death, and Rape

Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, and Bullying

Minor: Suicide

dagny23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The book gets better. It started out with cliches but really developed. It is amazing that the author is not a scientist.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Abandonment

kjboldon's review against another edition

fast-paced

3.0

Lots of trigger warnings. A fast read, often funny, weirdly shifting in tone, that felt rather packaged to me, like it had been forced into a similar narrative to Where'd You Go Bernadette? Excellent dog character and dog POV though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Bullying, and Rape

Minor: Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Vomit, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Misogyny, and Abandonment