Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

I Could Live Here Forever by Hanna Halperin

8 reviews

henriettaenam's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Feels really autobiographical to me 
Very sad book 
I had hoped Charlie would get better 
It did seem like he desperately wanted to get better just like everyone in his family seem to want him to be 

I don’t see the relevance of Leah’s MFA group but I guess that’s just to show she had some sort of life 

Also the part about her mother felt flat 
Unless it’s to somehow point to a factor in her brokenness 
That trace and meet part too seemed like some closure was planned for but that too did not seem tied to any relevant end for me 

Her family; I don’t know what exactly they’re ; supportive or otherwise; it seems undecided 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Cursing, Eating disorder, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Physical abuse and Violence

hannahparadise's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.75

Playlist: ttpd:anthology *sobbing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Grief

venusianonmars's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death and Sexual content

literary_fey's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

ukponge's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Abandonment, and Alcohol

muddymind's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

2.75

I found this reads more like a memoir, (akin to Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton, especially.) and not a work of fiction. I’m not sure how autobiographical this story is but the structure seems awkward for a novel. If it was a memoir looking back at the authors life, I would be more inclined to ignore this books faults but there’s a lot that didn’t work for me. Firstly, the writing was elementary and lazy at times. Secondly, I had no real sense of who Leah was because any attempt at fleshing her out was too direct. Also the love story seemed impersonal, like it was told from a distance even when we as readers were in the middle of supposed heartwarming, love building moments. 
Most importantly, Charlie was reduced to simply & solely an addict. There were no attempts to give any context to his character or his fight for sobriety. The language around his addiction is outdated for a book that came out so recently- referring to him as an addict instead of a person with an addiction. Leah blamed all her unhappiness on Charlie & his illness but never really took accountability for her flaws or how she aided in her own suffering. I’ve read my fair share of chaotic, depressed female characters but Leah did not have the same honesty or self awareness to make the story work. I don’t need a perfect ending, for the characters to make some huge life altering change in the way of self betterment but girl come on… go to therapy !!

if this is based on real life, rip Charlie. Hope you’re not hurting anymore

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

syellico's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Gaslighting

mrsboomreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Continuing my string of painful fictional reads, I just finished listening to I Could Live Here Forever. I could not relate to these characters in any way and was so frustrated throughout. However, the author was masterful at keeping the reader engaged, while grounding the story in the reality of addiction and a tragic relationship. An unflinchingly honest portrayal of a co-dependency, it felt important to bear witness. And the writing was excellent.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual content