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Reviews tagging 'Child death'
Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
20 reviews
antoniaodernein's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
magca's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
nickoliver's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I really enjoyed Hitchcock's writing and got really invested in the characters' lives. I did, in some stories, wish I got a bit of a satisfying ending, but I also knew that it wasn't unusual for short stories to not offer that, so it didn't make me mad or annoyed or anything. I definitely want to read more by this author! I would advise you to check out the trigger warnings before going into the book, though. There was a lot about sexual abuse of children in some stories, particularly sexual abuse by religious leaders.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, and Murder
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Car accident, and Death of parent
bexh's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Violence, Car accident, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
gladiator_fox's review
3.0
Minor: Child death, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Grief, Car accident, and Murder
juliezantopoulos's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
There was a content warning at the start of the book, but frankly, I'm not sure it was enough. It says:
"One of the many story strands in this novel is connected to sexual abuse (not graphic), which may be a sensitive issue for some readers."
I'm not sure how "non-graphic" it is. It's not necessarily off screen and is told in a way that the reader feels very present during the abuse. I will also say that the book covers the loss of a sibling, abduction, trauma, grief, cheating, and sexual abuse of children by adults (specifically clergy).
Moderate: Child death, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Addiction and Excrement
rockatanskette's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
ainsya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town is a collection of short stories that follows a varied group of teen characters in small towns throughout the American West and Northwest. The book explores the concept of death in many different ways, beyond the literal sense of it like the death of innocence, childhood, memories, of love and of hope. It was unexpected but in a beautiful way.
Typically I don't tend to gravitate towards short stories as I always end up feeling like I'm missing a lot of the backstory and what happens next. However, this book did a great job at interweaving the stories and characters into each other that it feels relatively complete and enough to satisfy me as a reader. The connections between the characters are subtle and it just goes to show the complex connection of one human being to another. How you'll never know what a big or small impact you have on another person's lives. The stories are heavily character driven and there isn't much of a huge storyline really. It's more about the human experience and a slice of life kind of book, just stuff that could be happening on any other day (which are the types of books I love to read).
I thought the offerings were pretty consistent throughout the book despite a couple weak entries. There were a few instances where I wished the stories are longer though.
My top 3 favorites were:
1. There's Gas in the Tank, Louise! "She has missed them because sisters should never leave their sisters." This one honestly deserves a book on its own. Wished it was longer so I get to spend more time with the characters. It's so emotional, left me teary eyed. This was a good one to wrap up the collection.
2. The Right Kind of People.
3. The Stranger in the Woods.
4. [Honorary mention] Parking Lot Flowers.
Side note: can we talk about Hitchcock's unmatchable, top notch book/story titles? Some of the best titles I've come across.
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Child death and Drug use
bella_cavicchi's review
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Car accident
Minor: Addiction
erins_library's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
A few years back, I narrated the audiobook for Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock’s The Smell of Other People’s Houses. So when I saw that she had a new book coming out I was so excited and ready to get my hands on it!! I didn’t read too deeply into the synopsis before diving in. All I knew was that it was a short story collection and the title... which gave me some idea. I was pleasantly surprised that all the stories ended up being connected to each other in some way and built off of each one. It reminded me of Bonnie-Sue’s first book with the multiple perspectives and seeing how they all connected. It’s something I really enjoy about her storytelling style!
The stories themselves felt like an ode to small towns and the communities they hold. Small towns get a reputation for being places where nothing happens, life stands still. But these stories are bursting with life, love, heartbreak, tragedy, and more. The characters were great and I especially loved seeing them through new perspectives when they popped up in different stories. I most related to 2 characters in one of the stories who are not outdoorsy camping types, but because they’re Alaskan people expect them to be experts. Very relatable. I flew through the book and think many of you would enjoy it as well. Releases in April!
CW: trauma, sexual abuse, pedophilia, child death, murder, grief, drug use, car crash, wildfire, cheating
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Drug use, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Car accident
Minor: Child death and Murder