Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Wellness by Nathan Hill

25 reviews

mbrenner's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Suicidal thoughts

cats33's review against another edition

emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

3.0

Well written but not my style of book by any means. Felt like it was a memory quiz by going on many rangers but eventually circling back to what it is referencing or connecting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Colonisation

dkropp1's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury

hannahyorkey's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

4.75

Nathan Hill writes in such a conversational way that makes it feel like you’re being told a story by a friend. He writes such complex, multidimensional characters that truly feel so real and raw. I love the way he bounces back and forth between the various characters and time periods of their lives to ultimately tell a circular and satisfying story. Very reflective of several topics, Wellness made me think and kept me hooked for all 600 pages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Suicide attempt

michelleka's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Child abuse, Death, and Death of parent

taylorfield's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Long Story Short: It’s 2014, and Jack and Elizabeth have been together since they met in college twenty years ago. As the two juggle parenting, careers, and building their forever home, they struggle with an unthinkable question - are they right for one another? 

Wellness is an exploration of how childhood experiences shape the lives of young adults, how people shift into new versions of themselves as priorities change, and what happens when people just don’t know how to communicate with each other. Nathan Hill has pretty brilliantly crafted a group of characters in a place and time where this kind of story works perfectly - spanning decades of memories, trauma, and best efforts. It manages to be sad, funny, derisive, and touching all at the same time. 

I’ll echo the thoughts of others that a good editor would have had a go at the long-winded, often technical ramblings, which at times feel long just for the sake of being long (the discussion of algorithms and a certain funeral come to mind). With a 9-page bibliography, Wellness is obviously well-researched, but it certainly didn’t *have* to be almost 700 pages. (On that note, one of my favorite quotes is from the bibliography: “This book had many such deep dives.”) Towards the end there were some “coincidences” that felt a bit too on the nose, and this is not a cast of “likable” characters by any means, but overall I can see why it’s so popular. 

I waited 10 weeks after putting this on hold, then another 6 weeks for a second hold when I was only halfway through after my first borrow and couldn’t renew, and I think it says a lot that I was able to pick right back up where I left off, minus a few small details such as Toby’s age. 

Enjoyment: 4/5

Craft: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

aileron's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Cancer, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal death and Self harm

bookishcookiemonster's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Great exploration of humans, couples, and how each person's baggage doesn't just go away magically. 
Definitely had me reflecting a lot about my own life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Abortion

hmquistquest's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.75

Fascinating; highly recommend speeding up the audio more than usual! It’s hard to tell where this is going but had lots of twists.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Child abuse is not a central focus but rather the trauma carried with the adults into their marriage. The emotional abuse from the parents is more focal than the few mentions of physical abuse. The child of the main characters in never abused and is treated well, so this is not about a cycle of violence.

ukponge's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Terminal illness, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Infidelity