Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

24 reviews

marisabenn's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Wow. What a gut wrenching, and all too realistic, story. 

I really liked how the chapters were laid out with the time stamps. The four POVs make this heartbreaking and hopeful. I honestly have few words for this one. It's powerful with so many layers and pieces to be taken away.

It was difficult to keep track of minor characters. I wish the author would have included a list of victims, even if it is fictional. There were so many names either half-remembered or never known that I got lost. 

I also wish there was more about Tyler. We don't know why he wanted to mass murder his classmates, but I guess that's not rare for school shootings. In the end it just felt a little..... forced? I'm not sure, but it was lacking something. 

Definitely need a light rom-com after this heartbreaker. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Grief, Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Dementia, Bullying, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, and Car accident

jamiejanae_6's review

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Suicide, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape

agoraphobic_crawfish's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

 TW/CW: mass shooting, gun violence, mentions of abuse, mentions of grief, mentions of Alzheimer's, mentions of rape.

Reading this was painful. Upsetting. I probably won't read another book like it in the future.

Spoiler

Tyler said he "didn't want to be alone anymore". He was never alone. He isolated himself in his grief and then when he successfully pushed ppl away, he turned that grief to anger. I can't feel bad for him though. He wasn't a good person before the shooting. As much as autumn tried to paint him as a saint because he was there for her. he's homophobic, a rap*st, and manipulative/controlling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Grief, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Gore, Child death, Car accident, Blood, Gun violence, Bullying, Lesbophobia, Death of parent, Violence, Physical abuse, Islamophobia, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Child abuse, and Hate crime

iksme's review against another edition

challenging sad fast-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

5.0

Every time I read this book, it emotionally destroys me. It is similar to an out-of-body experience. You will cry if you read this, even if you usually don't. It is a deep and sickeningly realistic depiction of what it is like to experience trauma and its effects on the community, including the beginnings of collective community trauma. There is a main character who is a queer domestic violence survivor, and her story is so thought out, so real it is as though she is guiding you through this book. this read hurt my heart and helped me feel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Gaslighting, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual harassment

anna_hepworth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I listened to Nijkamp talk about their books some years ago, and put them on my list of authors to follow up. This is the only book of their's that my local library has in their ebook collection, so I borrowed it knowing pretty much nothing. It might have helped if I'd known the bare bones of what the book is about, but as it was it was incredibly confronting. 

I think this is probably the most tense book I've read. It has such a narrow focus, across multiple viewpoint characters, that at no point during this incredibly awful hour that the book covers is there any narrative breathing room. 

The rapid shift between the four viewpoint characters, plus the extra perspective that comes from a handful of tweets and/or short blog posts that end each chapter, makes it a maelstrom of 'what is happening'. Particularly because the distress of those inside the situation and the distress of those outside trying to work out what is going on are both conflicting and enmeshed in a way that is disorienting in a way that brings the immediacy of the traumatic even that the book portrays. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Child death, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gun violence, Death, and Homophobia

Minor: Bullying, Death of parent, and Rape

bits_and_pieces_odds_and_ends's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Dementia, and Grief

bradley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Dementia, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Blood, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, and Bullying

readingbooksinisrael's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Gun violence, Suicide, Outing, Mass/school shootings, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Blood

Moderate: Dementia, Terminal illness, Rape, and Grief

Minor: Gore and Chronic illness

spooderman's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcoholism, Bullying, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Dementia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Xenophobia, Outing, Vomit, Deportation, and Islamophobia

kxc319's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Very emotional and at times, hard to read because it’s simply too realistic. The writing is wonderful as I found myself very emotionally attached to the characters. But the book on a whole brings up the question: should gun violence, especially mass shootings and school shootings be a topic for entertainment?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual assault, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Dementia, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Rape, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent