Reviews tagging 'Deportation'

Het verhaal van Alice Hart by Holly Ringland

8 reviews

jstilts's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.0

Beautifully written, I nevertheless found this book an absolute slog of a read. Terrible things happen to Alice throughout the book, which is heartbreaking, but terrible things fill the lives of the dozens of other characters as well to the point of ridiculousness. Everyone is damaged by death or abuse - even the most minor of characters - for instance a vet, who appears in a handful of paragraphs, has a dead wife and child on his mind. It's eye rolling and exhausting. A character we meet early on and only return to very late in the book has a child die at 5 because everyone needs a tragedy. Everyone has a story and every story is miserable.

Characters make the worst possible decisions at all times just to drive the grimness onwards and make Alice's life as miserable as possible. Her lov ng grandmother absolutely ruins Alice's life and the motivations are all incomprehensible beyond the author wanting their character to suffer.

Where I really gave up is when - SPOILER - Aluce falls ridiculously deeply and savagely in love literally at first sight with someone who of course turns out to be an abuser. I realise that it's not uncommon for victims of abusive families to find themselves with abusive partners but she didn't gravitate towards him, she didn't know the guy at all, so that's not what is happening here - it's just Alice Must Suffer!

Honestly, I wouldn't have finished this book if it wasn't chosen for a book club I'm hosting.

Utterly exhausting, which is a shame as it's beautifully written. One quirk is that most chapters feel like they could be the ending - at times it's like reading a collection of short stories that tell one narrative. I'd be tempted to try the author again so long as the subject matter is entirely different.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Deportation

beckyjmcc's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.0

Important subject matter in this story. The author has clearly put much effort and energy into writing about issues that I care deeply about.

... but I couldn't stand the writing. Almost DNF'd. Painful to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

imaginethisreader's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Stalking, Abandonment, and Deportation

be_emvi_ous's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense 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: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Deportation

jrae1334's review against another edition

emotional sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Deportation

brilee92's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcoholism and Deportation

dutchyreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Deportation

Minor: Animal cruelty

kiwichill's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Deportation

Minor: Medical content