Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

21 reviews

briely's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Minor: Child death and Medical trauma

jlaz_13's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

 TJ Klune has done it again! He made me sob like no one's business. As someone who has a difficult relationship with death, this book ripped my heart apart and then stitched it back together. It was a good source of catharsis for me. I don't know how to explain how much I love his writing style. I will continue to read any of his adult fiction books! 425/10 will recommend and read again! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

jamiebrito's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful relaxing 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Death of parent

batwinggoth's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

The book has a slow start, but the delivery of main character's struggles and inner monologue are written whimsically and humorous which is a great balance to the dark and heavy themes of the novel. The characters are all written well with great detail to each. The story's narrative is well encompassing of both predictable story progression and the pleasantly unexpected that pull you even deeper into the story being told.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Car accident, and Sexual harassment

The book is centered around dead people and meeting people from all walks of life as they die in various ways - understanding and helping them process their dead and pass. Most characters are complicated and real with great detail of their emotions, feelings, and inner dialogue and they process their life and what happened to them or what they're currently going through. There's a child

who died from terminal illness whose mother is actively grieving and constantly visiting the tea shop (central setting of the book).

There's a character who we meet who was

murdered in an ally who recounts his death and expresses his extreme anger drastically.

There's a character who was bullied and emotionally abused

by his parents and experiences a sudden loss of his partner in the hospital and ends up dying by suicide due to his overwhelming grief.

The main character begins as an extremely toxic, workaholic and overall extremely bitter man who had been once married to a woman, the both of whom where extremely toxic and gaslighting towards each other in the end. The sexual harassment

is only in reference to a man and a woman who visit their tea shop often and constantly hits on Hugo in inappropriate ways and in one instance the man even says he'll 'wear him down' despite Hugo already rejecting him multiple times.

The animal death

is only mentioned because a main character, Apollo, is a ghost dog who had passed.

I may have missed other important instances of tagged content, but hopefully this helps give folks a better idea about the themes who need it to determine whether reading the book is right for them. I'd say while it's not impossible to skip past some graphic subjects, death and grief are unavoidable and I would suggest you not read the book if you are actively in mourning yourself unless you find reading about other people's grief and experiences cathartic in processing your own grief.

tori_spring's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent

kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-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

I was fully prepared for a 4-star rating for this one, and then dammit, the ending got me. 😢 One very specific part of it. And I feel that if a book can make *ME* tear up, it deserves 5 stars. 😂

This is a very character-driven story, and while those usually aren't my favorite, I loved this one. The characters were so well written and thoroughly developed, and I fell in love with all of them. Nelson cracked me up!

Themes of grief, joy, love, found family, and hope are all prominent here. I loved this book and highlyrecommend it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, and Suicide

Minor: Car accident and Death of parent

spookily's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Grief

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer

cultbyproxy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-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

“There is a catharsis to grief, though we don’t usually see that in the midst of it.” 

I started writing this review when I was only 30% into the book. If that doesn’t show how much I love this book, I don’t know what will. 

Klune has a gift for writing some of life’s greatest tragedies in such a hopeful manner. Similar to The House in the Cerulean Sea, Under The Whispering Door follows a male protagonist journeying through a difficult situation: death. Or more specifically, what comes after death. We see Wallace Price as he moves on to what comes next with the help of some unique characters and even aids a few characters along his journey.

Klune’s characters are always captivating and have unique quirks that truly make the reader feel invested in not only the storyline and all it’s little twists and turns, but the wonderful characters and their developments. He alludes to The House in the Cerulean Sea several times through pictures of “an island in the middle of the sea, a strange home set on its cliffs” that are hung on the walls of the house and that is a minor detail which really stuck out to me. 

Klune has a striking voice that comes out on his pages and it has only gotten stronger in his second novel. His attention to detail in the timing of his plot and how to better construct his story doesn’t go unnoticed and I can’t wait to see what else he has in store for us.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Medical trauma

Moderate: Child death and Murder

Minor: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Death of parent

caidyn's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-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

4.25

Another great adult book by Klune. This book is so heartfelt about grief and death and processing it all. I loved that. Plus, all the queer characters and going over queer pain and coming out, even coming out late in life. I'll definitely reread this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Medical trauma, and Murder

emmalyn_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Oh where do I even begin?! This was such a fantastic take on what happens to us when we die! The notion that we see the end of our life, are lead to a way station to process it and eventually move on with no fear, no regrets, no hesitation into something so...freeing. Then don't even get me started on Apollo, Mei, Nelson, Wallace and above all, Hugo. Apollo, the forever bestest boy. Nelson, tethered to his grandson in the most heart wrenching way, always just him and Hugo. Mei, with her open heart and spit fire attitude. Nelson, with all his humanly faults who found his way when he least expected it but unexpecting it. Then sweet, handsome, caring, beautifully broken Hugo. This book struck me so hard, had me laughing, crying and screaming "you're damn right" far too often. I will forever be a top favorite, something TJ Klune is quickly becoming himself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder