Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

17 reviews

haleiyoung's review

emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

4.25

This was an amazing book! The characters made me feel all kinds of emotions and the setting was so charming. AJ starts out as a brash man, but evolves into a softer version of his opinionated, unsentimental self. There are complicated relationships, second chance love stories in the background and a twist you may or may not see coming. 
Some characters are irredeemable, which this book definitely has in my opinion, but there are characters who make huge mistakes and you can't help but feel for their situation, which this book also has (and just to make it clear, those who are irredeemable are not those I feel for because

Spoiler

screw cheating bastards).
My one critique would be about the number of parentheses and information dumping the author chose to keep in during the first few chapters. As the book progressed the words came much smoother, but in the beginning I felt like I was being bogged with a bunch of need to know information but presented in an ineloquent fashion.

Now here's a part with a spoiler

But I love the adoption trope in this book. Although I HATE when books or movies portray someone dumping their child onto an unwilling party, the way AJ accepts Maya into his home and loves her like he would his own daughter, and then Amelia doing the same when they get married is beautiful. I was adopted, and seeing it portrayed in such a way that sees AJ being seen as the legitimate dad and Amelia as the legitimate mom and not just the "adoptive parents" makes me heart so happy. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility, Suicide, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death, Terminal illness, Abandonment, and Cancer

Minor: Racism and Car accident

Nothing is explained in explicit detail. There is some insinuation to sex, but nothing descriptive. Racism- there is a brief insensitive remark made to the main character and family Miscarriage and infertility- nothing explicit, but talk around it is fairly un-emotive and swept aside toxic relationship- not the main character's relationship, but his sister-in-laws Car accident- nothing graphic, but results in death

bociti's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book soo much. I can't enough words to describe this lovely story about a bookworm man 🥲 I'll be reread it as much as I can until the pages fade 🥹

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism

Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt

kaylaboevers's review

emotional medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Suicide, Death, Cancer, and Abandonment

Moderate: Car accident and Infidelity

Minor: Infertility

blewballoon's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective 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

4.0

This was a really good story, definitely one of those types of books that is written for people who love being around books. There were a lot more plots and characters than I expected, and I think they all were given just enough time, but maybe could have had more? I wasn't as emotionally impacted by the emotional parts, but based on the tone of the book I'm not sure I was really supposed to be. The book felt more about the general ups, downs, and surprises of life in a way that I don't think was meant to be super heavy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer

Moderate: Car accident, Miscarriage, Suicide, Infidelity, and Death

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Vomit, Racism, and Death of parent

bakergirlsbooks1999's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book was powerful. I loved the story and while it may have took me some time to get into at first I quickly was able to make my way through it absorbed by the story of the bookstore owner A. J. Fikry. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Abandonment, Vomit, Car accident, Miscarriage, and Terminal illness

katierobertsonshaddix's review

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Car accident, Infertility, Medical content, Abandonment, Grief, Mental illness, Suicide, Dementia, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Death of parent, Drug use, Infertility, Suicide, Self harm, Death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

polkadots_pints's review

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.25

This book definitely kept me engaged - I finished it in three days! A light/medium read, though it includes serious subject matter (see StoryGraph content warnings). Fun for book lovers, as many books and short stories are referenced. My only "complaint" (if  one could even call it that) is that a few times the narrative skips ahead many years in a way that felt a little jolting.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Car accident, Grief, Suicide, Death, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Death of parent, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Medical content, Vomit, and Pregnancy

caitlinjadams's review against another edition

reflective fast-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

4.0

A fast read that I’m glad to have read. It’s a very very good book…just not quite MY book, you know. It’s sparse in a way that mostly left me wanting more of most of it. But I’m sure for others, that could be exactly what makes it shine. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Car accident

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, Infidelity, Cancer, and Death

Minor: Medical content, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage

Aphasia

ju_harue's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring lighthearted 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

 Que leitura incrível! Eu sabia pouca coisa antes de ler, e que bom que foi assim, pois cada momento de descoberta, trazia aquele sentimento de “não acredito!”. A autora escreve maravilhosamente bem. 

O que, em teoria, poderia ser uma história bem clichê e previsível, foi na verdade, cheia de plot muito bem amarrados. Uma grande homenagem ao universo literário. 

É incrível o que Zevin faz em apenas 186 páginas. Ao mesmo tempo, é profundo mas também é rápido, mas nunca superficial. O tempo nesse livro, foi um ponto alto, a forma como é descrito, me pegou. Os personagens são cativantes, peculiares e extremamente bem construídos. 

Se estiver em dúvida, a respeito de ler ou não, meu conselho é se jogar sem medo na leitura. Amei demais e mal posso esperar para ler outras obras da autora. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical trauma, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Cancer, Car accident, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit

hkburke2's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

3.75

"speaks to the necessity of encountering stories at precisely the right time in our lives"

After reading the first page of this book I was gifted I realized I'd read it before (with the other cover, which is cutely depicted on the cover of this new edition). Apparently I thought it deserved 3 stars the first time (to review written), but I'm not sure if I was stingier with stars or didn't like it as well. 

This time around I enjoyed the writing, sense of humor, and cozy, fast pace. I also probably took more issue with the adoption plotline, which was handled too casually for me in this reading with my current understanding of the process/trauma. It does fit with the vibe of the book but that makes it feel kind of like a device instead of an exploration of how it would impact the people involved. I expect some readers will love it for that, but it rubbed me the wrong way here (probably the same way some reviewers have left negative comments about the medical content/errors, which wasn't as problematic for me right now). 

Always, quick read, lots of jabs at emotional content, pretty surface level and cozy though if that's what you're up for!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Abandonment, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Vomit, Car accident, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness

Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Medical content, Death of parent, and Fatphobia