Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Ward D

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Ward D by Freida McFadden

8 reviews

bsparx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Do you ever finish a book and have the reaction of, “Oh! You son of a….“?? That was my reaction when I finished Ward D. In the epilogue. Now it wasn’t a disappointed reaction. It was an intrigued, ‘you actually had me fooled‘ reaction. Do know how rarely I have those?

I noticed the reviews about Ward D are mixed, which I can understand. It becomes clear, early on, that our protagonist is an unreliable narrator. They’re not for everyone and sometimes a reader needs more patience to get through what seems like a potentially annoying character flaw. However, when you get through it, realise it’s an unreliable narrator, sometimes you can be so pleasantly surprised.

Amy, our protagonist, comes across as being very unsure of herself. She lacks confidence and, eventually, I suspected she had an undiagnosed anxiety disorder. I have anxiety myself. Reading Amy’s thoughts was akin to listening to my own thoughts. They weren’t the same, mind you, but they were exhausting. They were all over the place. I was like, “girl, you need some lexapro or something.” My thoughts and then Amy’s downward spiral was not a good mix. This was the point I had a break.

I enjoyed the other characters. They’re all very interesting, a little kooky, and questionable. About halfway through I didn’t trust any of the characters. I didn’t trust the main character. I had built up several theories and, in my experience, they’re usually right, but this time I was wrong! So wrong, and so good that I was!

Now, as someone who has a gazillion mental illnesses, I feel I can comment on the fact the story is set in a psychiatric ward (never had the actual experience though) with characters who have mental illness and disorders. I think, if you take things a certain way, you could be a tad offended by some of the mental illness portrayal. This is granted in some stories. However I don’t feel this is the way with Ward D. I feel the way McFadden wrote about diagnoses and treatment, from Amy’s perspective, was open-minded and in the positive. Amy actually learnt some things by the end of the story, which is great.

I found Ward D very easy to read. It grabbed my attention straight away and had momentum. If I was a person who was able to sit for long periods of time, and didn’t prize my sleep, I would have easily finished this book in one sitting. As it was, I finished it in just over one day, and still got my sleep. And now I want to read another McFadden novel.

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hannnah_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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fableworm's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book had me in a chokehold i couldn’t put it down

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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I liked this one fine, and it had the patented Frieda McFadden twists. But god damn, you would think this was written 40 years ago for how it talked about mental health! Super judgy and exclusive terms about people being crazy and unstable and like animals. It felt like McFadden had never met a mentally ill person. Folks in overnight facilities are all trying their best. No one wants to live with a brain that tortures them. Everyone is deserving of care. And I feel like if one of Amy's doctors had read this book, she would get a severe talking to about how she refers to mentally ill patients. Also, she needs to get her head out of her ass about this whole I-was-dumped-for-a-test thing. People make mistakes! They get really stressed about life-changing tests and they screw up their priorities! But don't spend the whole book

hating your ex and then suddenly feel all bad when he's dead.

McFadden has written female characters that were way easier to support than Amy.

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aparker89's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Need a fast paced book that I a good distraction from everyday life? This is certainly a good one for that. This author is good at writing fast paced, easy to read books that capture your attention. It's certainly not perfect and some of the "twists" are pretty predictable for any seasoned mystery reader. I appreciate that this book (although similar to another by this same author in pattern and story) takes place over the course of a single night. It makes it that much more compelling to finish.

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mrsd2008's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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killmoore_'s review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Ward D is fun.

Throw out all of your anger about how unrealistic the medical ward setting is (we get it) and let yourself enjoy this slightly cheesy, b-movie vibe, absolutely ridiculous plotline.

Despite having figured out the big twist about 30% in, I live for a good unreliable narrator story, and this had me second guessing our MC every step of the way. Amy is terrible, and by the end I was almost rooting for her to die.

HOWEVER. The end had me cackling. I had been so angry with how they "wrapped up" the little girl plot point that I was thrilled to have a little extra.

Despite its faults, this was a fun, fast paced read that I couldn't put down. We love Frieda.

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pageafter_paige's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is hands down one of Frieda’s best in my opinion. I was hooked instantly by the short chapter and the writing style! I was on the edge of my seat as I read this in one sitting. The entire book I was waiting for the next shoe to drop and I was trying so hard to figure out the twists but yet again Freida has me tricked! I loved how we got present day chapters and then flash backs from 8 years before to provide more context and deepen the characters.

I really don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to give anything away but damn I wish this book was a movie! If you’re looking for a fast paced psychological thriller or are in a slump this is the book for you!!!!

I know I’m hyping this up so much but really this felt like I just discovered Freida for the first time again. Maybe I NEEDED a thriller of maybe she’s just THAT GOOD but either way this is a top tier read for me!

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