Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

4 reviews

orchidlilly's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

An endearing and relatable character for young girls interested in science, plus she solves complex mysteries in a way that is scientifically accurate? Sign me up!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

purplepenning's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Kidnapping

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Sexism, Torture, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and War

About halfway through the book there's a long monologue that features an extended depiction of racist stereotypes, with a few others scattered throughout.

emileereadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

 Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I did struggle to get through it but that was more about me and my reading life than this book. 

Pros: I like how spunky and confident Flavia is. She is smart and the mystery element was very interesting. I feel like there was a good setup for relationships between characters to grow in the following books (which I will be giving a shot).

Cons: Flavia is a bit too cocky at times for my liking and her contentious relationship with her sisters bothered me a bit. 

The biggest reason I think this book is a "really liked" rating vs. a "loved" rating for me is that last year I read and fell in love with Myrtle Hardcastle. Myrtle and Flavia are very alike but Myrtle is more humble and virtuous, and I read her first, so I like Myrtle more. I do think that it would be a great book club for a group to read both the first Flavia and first Myrtle books and contrast and compare them. That being said, Flavia, because of the content, I would label as more young YA while Myrtle is firmly middle grade. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Bullying, Death, and Suicide

alainaev's review against another edition

funny mysterious slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying and Confinement

Minor: Death and Suicide