Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

13 reviews

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

Bernadette doesn’t belong in Seattle, but her husband is a big shot at Microsoft, so there she is. So different from all the other moms at her kid’s (Bee) school. In a wild series of events in which everyone acts without actually discussing anything with each other, Bernadette goes missing. Now it’s up to Bee to think like her mom to try to find her even though everyone else has given up hope. This book was hilarious and I loved it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts

221bpinkst's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

Some language

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Drug use, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Religious bigotry

missgrangerr's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Abandonment

Moderate: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Forced institutionalization

taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Where’s You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple was far more enjoyable than I expected it to be. I think it wove together perfectly. Even though there are gaps in the narrative, it flows seamlessly, and as everything unfolds so does the reader’s understanding of characters, motivations, and intentions. This book took turns I wasn’t expecting, and though it didn’t get an audible gasp, it did get a solid “oh damn!” If you’re looking for an enjoyable, contemporary adventure, check out this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infidelity

lisdahl's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, and Forced institutionalization

meganpbennett's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? is a book that's incredibly hard to rate. It's... a mediocre book about a family you hate from the get go. Bee, the daughter, is not a nice person, and it shows throughout the entire story. Bernadette herself suffers from a horrific experience while trying to build the Twenty Mile House, one which people told her to dust herself off and get back on the horse, all the while ignoring what happened. Then she moved to Seattle, and wasted away in a house that was literally falling apart around her ears. The sort of falling apart where it's a miracle social services hasn't been called. 

The novel isn't exactly as described, since a third of the story takes part before the family trip to Antarctica, and it's a little hard to follow, at first, since it's only later revealed that it's Bee creating the story from a dossier she received about the few weeks before Bernadette disappears, causing the perspective to drastically change and the reliability of the narrator to shift from 'unreliable' to 'complete fiction'. 

However, that's what makes this book work, and the fact that we lose that shifting, epistolary story exactly when Bernadette disappears, thoroughly weakening the last 50-100 pages, and causing it to lose a star. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

sinceslicedbread's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

I really enjoyed all of the moving parts of this book.

My only complaint is the ending. I think Sue Lynn getting pregnant was unnecessary and left a lot to be desired at the end. How would this affect the characters’ relationships?

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Content Warnings

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, and Classism

rstegema's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.75

This was a delightful and quick read! I really enjoyed the pacing the author created by sectioning off the book and the use of letters and emails intermixed with first person narrative to weave the story. 

The twists and turns throughout the story were expertly placed and each added a bit of context that helped the full story unfold. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Forced institutionalization

mateoj's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

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

3.75

I think the main selling point for this story is the way it's told partially via emails, notes, articles, etc ; I'm a sucker for that trope. Unfortunately, Where'd You Go, Bernadette falls victim to the classic pratfall of that trope, which is that the characters write unrealistically long and prosaic emails and letters in order to get the narrative across. This grated on my nerves throughout the novel, but I have to admit that it was fun to read nonetheless. The story itself... equal parts entertaining and infuriating. The only character I found remotely tolerable and redeemable was Bee; everyone else sucked, especially Bernadette herself. All I really saw in her was a very mentally ill woman who was unhealthily attached to her child and had an incredible amount of sheer dumb luck. The answer to the title question should really have been "therapy"—but rhen, of course, there would be no story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol

Minor: Misogyny and Rape

camiskye's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Racism