Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Уроки химии by Bonnie Garmus

83 reviews

dreezy's review against another edition

emotional tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Suicide, Vomit, Car accident, and Abandonment

nagoatsis's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.5

The book is too long it’s very repetitive between allll the examples of sexism (which are important to the plot and tone but that many examples didn’t need to be included) and then the retelling of what happened to Calvin and to Elizabeth over and over for new characters that come in the pace is very slow because of this but picks up when the magazine gets involved it starts to really roll along after that it’s very very well written it’s fun to read it just needs more editing especially to be cut down 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, Car accident, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Suicide, and Death of parent

chronic_listener's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Abandonment

zoiejanelle's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.5

i read this per my aunt’s recommendation with zero knowledge of the book going into it. it is about the generation of women who came just after my grandmother, adult women in the late 50s and 60s who were on the precipice of the next great American feminist movement but still greatly impacted by WW2 social norms.

i did not expect this book to impact me so much! i love women’s fiction, but i tend to prefer more literary works than this. there was a very clear timeline and plot, which i appreciated, and though the book covered serious topics, the tone was mostly lighthearted. 

the POVs in this book were absolutely incredible. i LOVED getting 6:30’s perspective, and the type of head hopping that would normally
bother me was used very strategically and successfully! 

there was a HEAVY dose of found family here that i did not expect at all. i welled up in tears many times over during scenes where Mad and Elizabeth got to experience the love and support of their own little community. 

also, i SHOUTED when the

Vogue

reveal happened. Harriet slayed!!! Best character award!!! 

i can definitely see how this book lends itself to a TV series, which i plan on watching! overall, this was a really fun and interesting read outside my comfort zone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Abortion, and Alcohol

kailiyahknight's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, and Death of parent

my_personal_escape's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, and Abandonment

bloomingbookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

2.75

It’s hard to rate this book. What I can say for sure is that it is absolutely not “laugh out loud funny” as the back of the book proclaims. Don’t be fooled by the cheery cover - the first half of the book was quite dark and had many upsetting scenes. The second half was intriguing but the tone felt off considering the darker scenes at the beginning of the book. All in all, I didn’t hate it, but I can’t say I’d recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Pregnancy

Minor: Body shaming and Religious bigotry

yjakmouj's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Grief, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Death of parent

spootilious's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

 

 

Read: July 17th, 2024
 Title: Lessons in Chemistry 
 Author: Bonnie Garmus 

Genre:  Historical Fiction 

Rating: 2/5
 Review: 

I have been contemplating how to review this for a few hours now. It’s difficult because I really enjoyed reading the book. It made me smile, cringe, and cry; though I think the ‘Laugh out Loud’ reviews are a bit farfetched. In fact, this novel wasn’t just heavy, it hit like a freight train (pun intended). 

I suppose my biggest conflict is that I really really like the message of the novel and the focus on social injustices. 

The issue then becomes all the things I didn’t like about the novel. 

The work was written well enough but Garmus switch so drastically from one injustice to another that I felt as if I were getting whiplash. She moved back and fourth so much that I don’t think any one subject got as much attention as it deserved. The one focused on the most being Women Empowerment but it felt more like anti-men than pro-women… That being said, I am the type of woman that will ALWAYS choose the bear. Still, I think it would be nice to see a feminist store that builds its own ladder rather than using the destroyed men as stepping stones to empowerment… Cuz in the end it means we still need them… even if in a negative way. 

I found the dialog to often be condescending as well. Almost as if Garmus was throwing in ever intelligent sound word she could find. It felt forced. People of high intelligence can sound as brilliant as their IQ without sounding like a robot. 

The unapologetic and vulgar nature of the atrocities throughout the book is both disturbing and refreshing. I’ve mentioned it in a rare review but I have to admire an author who can simply write a horrific act without defending or explaining it, it makes it hit harder. 

That being said… There was a lot… and jumping from it to a ‘funny’ quip or one liner made the whole thing feel off putting… 

 

Overall I really enjoyed the read, just not the way it was written. I would recommend this to individuals who enjoy heavy reads/sad reads, drama, historical fiction that borders on fantasy, or a strong feminist tone. 

 

TBH I loved the show though. Very well done. 

QUOTES:
 “The librarian is the most important educator in school. What she doesn’t know, she can find out. This is not an opinion; it’s a fact.” 

“Imagine if all men took women seriously. Education would change. The workforce would revolutionize. Marriage counsellors would go out of business.” 

“Courage is the root of change—and change is what we’re chemically designed to do.” 

“Sometimes I think," she said slowly, "that if a man were to spend a day being a woman in America, he wouldn't make it past noon.” 

 

 

TW: Rape, Adultery, Religious bigotry, Racism, Feminism, Sexism, Animal harm, parental death, death of a child, death of a parent, pedophilia, sexual assault, sexual harassment, bombs, death threats, car accidents, suicide, domestic abuse, vomit, abandonment, mentions of abortion, alcoholism, drug use, blood, body shaming, bullying, child abuse, toxic relationships, stalking, slurs, gaslighting, grief, fatphobia, emotional abuse, classism, alcohol, animal cruelty, pregnancy, miscarriage, infidelity, emotional abuse, medical content. 

 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

beccamay99's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail