Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

8 reviews

amandalachelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

shemcgee'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Potential spoilers!
I would not consider this a romance. This is a beautifully written but terrible story. Our FMC Wavy is a young girl from an abusive family who forms an unlikely friendship with her father's associate that turns romantic while she is still underage. It's heartbreaking and while some have said they found themselves rooting for this unlikely couple to make it, I found myself grieving the life Wavy deserved. She didn't get what she deserved as a child, so I can see thinking that she should get what she wants as an adult, could even understand wanting that for her. However, I still think that the author wanted you to realize that while Wavy was extremely smart and mature for her age she still wasn't grown when they entered into the beginning of a sexually intimate relationship. She knew what she wanted, but should not have been granted it at that age because she wasn't old enough to understand consent. I have no doubt that Kellen loved her, and protected her in many ways, but not in every way. He still did the wrong thing by taking advantage of her. I know it's been a common occurrence throughout the ages for men to marry girls while they're in their early to mid teen years, and there have been many points throughout history when it's been considered normal; however, normal doesn't mean right. Kids need a chance to be kids. Wavy never got a chance for a safe childhood so in some ways it's like she never really grew up. She experienced so much trauma. So did Kellen. I don't think the author was trying to make you sympathize with or understand pedophilia, I think she was just trying to tell a story of two very complicated people in who loved each other in complicated ways that were definitely not always the right ways. They found a way to be a bright spot for each other in the darkness, and yet I think if anything, the author has shown us that sometimes, love just isn't enough to make a situation right. You might find yourself wishing for peace for them, but wondering if they do get peace, will that be enough for either of them to heal? Both of them are broken, albeit in different ways. Definitely a book that makes you think and certainly not a book for everyone. A troubling read that I would read again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Racial slurs, Racism, and Vomit

samskiejo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, and Gaslighting

mapillski's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Cancer and Suicidal thoughts

amandalawrance's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Some of the topics covered were very heavy and I regretted not looking at the content warnings before starting the book. I did enjoy the book overall though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Violence, Car accident, and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Cancer

cait_margaret's review against another edition

There are responsible and affecting ways to write about this topic without ever romanticizing it and for all I know by its end this book looks at its central relationship with the disgust that it deserves, but I just don’t have the stomach to find out. The fact that I had to read a passage romanticizing a grown man touching  a little girl’s thigh is not okay with me. Add on everything else and I feel like it was being set up as trauma porn, which I just have no interest in reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Violence, Car accident, and Alcohol

hayleyvharrington's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, and Abandonment

honeycuttsp's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Gun violence, Rape, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy