Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry

21 reviews

aleen_elizabeth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

ivykennerauthor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

cewhouser7405's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

ashleylawrence's review against another edition

3.75

This was very kind of thought provoking I've never heard or seen this topic in this perspective before? It's obviously so horrific and I hated each character at least once in the book. I felt angry, confused, disgusted, sad, and frustrated throughout this book it evoked several emotions. I wish the ending was twist was drawn out a bit more but it also ended up about the way I figured it would.

The dad being a pedophile threw me for a loop but I didn't really ever think about that happening and being an option !!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault

sevenletters's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

emderosa's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia and Physical abuse

Moderate: Death, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content

Minor: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Vomit

princess_marie's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

zarakoconnor's review against another edition

dark tense 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

1.0

I tried so hard to read this book without DNFing. The way she has written an unlikeable narrator was very successful, I absolutely hated this woman and what she thought and continuously believed. She makes her son the victim in this situation and this was disgusting to read. HOWEVER!!! The purpose of this book felt like it was intending to address stigma of pedophilia and the way sexual predators are treated by the community, and I absolutely agree that we as a society need to shift our thinking about this toward a harm reduction and mental health model, rather than carceral, as people deserve treatment. But this is not what she did!!!!

The ending implies that after all of the commentary about how he isn’t a monster, and all the excuses made for him by his mother and the caring professionals, he actually IS a monster and is irredeemable and will never get better so he should die

which absolutely adds to the stigma this author intended to challenge!! The notion that pedophiles are irredeemable is both dehumanising and makes this behaviour seem inevitable, with people being victimised because “that’s just what pedophiles do” rather than attempting to treat them and work on prevention.  Also, the chapters from his perspective lend me to believe that we are MEANT to sympathise with him and how poorly he was treated, which is not handled gracefully when the underaged victims in this book are downplayed and treated as dramatic for their trauma, but I’m supposed to be sympathetic of his trauma? This makes me so angry, and I do not understand the positive reviews. This book failed. Lucinda Berry, do more research on pedophilic disorder and treatments because it is clear you skimmed it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Grief

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

paperkindle's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-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

3.0

This is a difficult book to review because of the subject. I felt his mother downplayed a lot of what he did. Saying things like "Noah’s case was the least serious. He was like the kid in treatment for smoking pot a few times surrounded by kids who shot heroin." And "Their (the girls) lives weren’t going to be ruined forever. They just weren’t. But, the world wouldn’t be satisfied until they’d annihilated him. He was more of a victim than those girls" SA has trauma on everyone, whether you're a kid or an adult. The ending explained a lot about Noah, I didn't see it coming. 

TW: rape, sexual assault, suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts, suicide, cancer, grief, violence, pedophilia

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Drug use, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Rape and Vomit

saidaredhead's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Medical content