Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Hard Land: Roman by Benedict Wells

4 reviews

carlasbeautypalace's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol

tigertheory's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-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? It's complicated

3.25

The End of Loneliness was a Five Star-Read for me so obviously I had to pick up another Wells. Well.

First, the good parts. The novel is well-planned and it’s written in a way that feels like it’s been (albeit somewhat badly) translated from English which is a fun gimmick. I like Wells' style, even  though you can tell that he’s more of a novelist than a poet (don’t know if it was necessary to include verse). At some points you can tell that he is not intimately familiar with US-American culture but overall I would say his picture of 1980s Americana holds up. Some points for the portrayal of men’s emotions and different ways to handle them which I appreciate, especially in YA.
The parts on grief and the loss of a parent (not a spoiler, that’s literally the first sentence) ring true – maybe even a bit too much; I was counting on this being a comfort read and it had me bawling. Too close to home.

Anyway.

I’m not a big fan of YA to begin with (never was, even as a teen) and this one felt both very rigid and  simplistic in its construction and above all, decidedly male.

The culmination of everything being sex was incredibly disappointing, especially with Kristie, who I found rather unlikeable throughout the whole story.

Wells' women characters are lackluster (did anyone say Madonna-Whore-Complex?) but I guess it’s also Sam’s perspective that’s skewing this a bit. Overall, I feel like he could’ve done more with the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Animal death and Sexual violence

kathrinellis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny reflective sad fast-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

5.0

Der Roman hat mich durch eine emotionale Achterbahnfahrt getrieben. 
Ich konnte mich sehr gut mit dem Protagonisten identifizieren, habe mit ihm gelitten,  gebangt, mich aber auch gefreut. 
Es gab unheimlich viele kleine Details, welche zusammen mit dem herausragenden Schreibstil diese Geschichte so grandios machen. 
Tatsächlich eines der besten Bücher, die ich in den letzten Jahren gelesen habe.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Outing, and Alcohol

jojo_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad slow-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Violence, Blood, and Vomit