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jessi_lou95's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
darlaslays's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
My opinion on this book is a bit complicated. It was both easy and difficult to read at the same time. It was engaging and interesting, but also dragged due to how much I disliked the main character.
I found myself getting super irritated at the numerous times the word, “crazy,” was used. The main character, Amy, is super unlikeable and dense. She’s supposed to be a third year medical student, but she doesn’t know a lot of basic information that you would already know as during undergrad, such as “sundowning.” She is clearly not very smart, so I don’t know how she made it into her graduate program. By the end of the book, it appears thatthe choice to make her annoying and hard to root for was intentional. Poor Will. If she were a real person, I’m sure Amy will eventually get help for her condition because living with untreated schizophrenia is impossible to hide as you get older. The conclusion ties everything together and made the slog worth it to me. However, it represents mental illness terribly.
I almost didn’t finish this book due to how the topic of mental health was covered. I also couldn’t suspend my disbelief on the unrealistic aspects of the ward or healthcare in general. I did appreciate when they sort of acknowledged that mentally ill patients are still people too.
Amy is very immature and has a terrible take on mental disorders. It does get reconciled in the end, but that reconciliation does demonize people who have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. As someone with bipolar II, I felt irritated that the condition wasn’t accurately portrayed. I’ve had one horrible manic episode with psychosis and several hypomanic periods in my life, but it never led to violence on others. I wish it was clearly depicted that the mental disorders and the violent actions taken by the characters were separate issues.
The writing was clunky at times, and it read like a YA novel. Nothing wrong with that, but the characters certainly didn’t seem like they were mid-to-late twenty somethings. They felt more like teenagers. I definitely cringed at several lines sprinkled throughout the book. At other times, I loved the descriptions of the events unfolding.
All that being said, the twists were fun and interesting, albeit it left the story with plot holes. Focusing on them too much would have just taken my enjoyment away. I can see why people are a fan of McFadden’s writing overall. This is likely not her best work, though.
It’s a fun time, just don’t set your expectations high for realism and be prepared to roll your eyes at the main character’s inner thoughts and actions.
I found myself getting super irritated at the numerous times the word, “crazy,” was used. The main character, Amy, is super unlikeable and dense. She’s supposed to be a third year medical student, but she doesn’t know a lot of basic information that you would already know as during undergrad, such as “sundowning.” She is clearly not very smart, so I don’t know how she made it into her graduate program. By the end of the book, it appears that
I almost didn’t finish this book due to how the topic of mental health was covered. I also couldn’t suspend my disbelief on the unrealistic aspects of the ward or healthcare in general. I did appreciate when they sort of acknowledged that mentally ill patients are still people too.
Amy is very immature and has a terrible take on mental disorders. It does get reconciled in the end, but that reconciliation does demonize people who have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. As someone with bipolar II, I felt irritated that the condition wasn’t accurately portrayed. I’ve had one horrible manic episode with psychosis and several hypomanic periods in my life, but it never led to violence on others. I wish it was clearly depicted that the mental disorders and the violent actions taken by the characters were separate issues.
The writing was clunky at times, and it read like a YA novel. Nothing wrong with that, but the characters certainly didn’t seem like they were mid-to-late twenty somethings. They felt more like teenagers. I definitely cringed at several lines sprinkled throughout the book. At other times, I loved the descriptions of the events unfolding.
All that being said, the twists were fun and interesting, albeit it left the story with plot holes. Focusing on them too much would have just taken my enjoyment away. I can see why people are a fan of McFadden’s writing overall. This is likely not her best work, though.
It’s a fun time, just don’t set your expectations high for realism and be prepared to roll your eyes at the main character’s inner thoughts and actions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism
The violence isn’t gratuitous, but people are restrained and beaten, brutally killed, or found dead.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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Mental illness, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Medical content and Murder
Minor: Addiction and Dementia
hannnah_reads's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
fableworm's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
insideunder's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment
thackerleah's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Mental illness
Moderate: Violence and Murder
oh_joyy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
1.5
I actually really, really did not like this book - I was looking forward to it ending. I did the audio, and the narrator was annoying. But maybe she was just portraying the main character really well, because I did not vibe with her at all. I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters in the book.
I might be biased because I work in healthcare and I’ve worked in mental health, and it was so so frustrating to read about the mental health stigmas and also just how incorrect the inpatient mental health facility was portrayed in general. But I get it, I had to remind myself that this is coming from a general public point of view and this also made it more suspenseful and thrilling for readers.
The twists and turns were just lack luster for me and the ending wasn’t too much of a shock. I do like McFadden’s other books, but this one was just not for me.
I might be biased because I work in healthcare and I’ve worked in mental health, and it was so so frustrating to read about the mental health stigmas and also just how incorrect the inpatient mental health facility was portrayed in general. But I get it, I had to remind myself that this is coming from a general public point of view and this also made it more suspenseful and thrilling for readers.
The twists and turns were just lack luster for me and the ending wasn’t too much of a shock. I do like McFadden’s other books, but this one was just not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Confinement and Mental illness
hannahjacobsen's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Another Freida book that I couldn’t put down! This book had me guessing until the very end. Just when I thought I had the characters figured out, another plot twist would throw me completely off. Definitely recommend for a quick thriller read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis