Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Testaments: The Sequel to the Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

23 reviews

mini_malist's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Self harm, and Injury/Injury detail

leonormsousa's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious slow-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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

thejuliette's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

jaylaccey's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

Margaret Atwood is truly a phenomenal writer. She grips you into the world of Gilead and challenges you to think about how this society could possible come to be from the basis of our own. History cannot repeat itself, and it were, we could be looking at a society similar to Gilead. A perfect sequel to the Handmaid's tale, a book that ends with a slight glimmer of hope. The Testaments hand you a glowing jar of hope at the end, begging you to hold onto it, so that it may inspire you to not let an evil dystopia take it away.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

bandysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

I think one of the reasons that it took so long for there to be a follow-up to The Handmaid’s Tale is just that it’s such a difficult story to do justice to. I tried to go into The Testaments with tempered expectations and I think that was helpful. This book is definitely solid, but definitely not as haunting as the original. 

The story follows three different POV characters as we learn what happens after Offred’s testimony. I thought this was an effective way to show a lot of progression in a lot of different places without making the book 1000 pages. 

I will say that while it did provide closure, it didn’t have the same emotional impact as HT. I did appreciate the resolution with some of the older characters like Aunt Lydia.

If you’re considering this series, I’d suggest:
Read Handmaid’s Tale
Watch The Handmaid’s Tale tv series
Finish with The Testaments

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

lectricefeministe's review against another edition

hopeful tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Classism

chronicallyplotting's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Phenomenal tribute/ending to the Handmaid’s Tale. I love the closure Atwood has given us. The surprises with each character. You will find yourself wondering where things are going until the very end. Hard to put the book down. You will morn characters. Cheer for characters. Hate characters. So many emotions. Fans of the Handmaid’s tale you won’t regret reading this. And The Hulu series has not touched anything this book is covering as it is 15 years after the Handmaid’s Tale book left June.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

emilymckay's review against another edition

dark sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Incest

imreallyraven's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child death

therobinjoyce's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

"As they say, history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes"

Margaret Atwood does it again with this thrilling sequel to The Handmaid's Tale.

I have no words to express how much I loved this book. The chopping between testaments from Aunt Lydia, Jade, and Agnes was wonderfully done and really invested me in the tales from Gilead and the lives of the women withing it.

The plot twists were epic and had me reeling, and the whole book from start to finish was gripping, chilling, and dastardly dark. Showing the true power of man's reach and the possibilities of what could happen if the world we live in is allowed to mimic history.

A well-deserved five star rating for such an exceptional book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent