Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

Glitterland by Alexis Hall

6 reviews

amaldae's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.25

I read this despite having taken it off my TBR years ago, because I happened to want a romance with depression rep. This came highly recommend.

And I... liked it more than I thought I would, but ultimately not as much as I might have. Ash is rude and immature and avoids introspection, which makes him an occasionally-frustrating main character. For the most part, I enjoyed the dynamic between him and Darian in that both of them did make me laugh. However, Ash consistently treats Darian poorly, which keeps the relationship fairly shallow.

I dislike it when the plot mainly progresses through things happening to the central couple instead of developing naturally between them. I felt like the two crucial plot points being driven by the actions of side characters kept Ash from growing. (The scene where his mental illness gets outed was properly upsetting. What an awful idea that people, let alone someone calling themselves your friend, sees you that way, gives you that little agency.) And so, when at the end they finally do decide to become an item, I didn't quite believe him even though he said all the right things. There was just a lot of character development I'd rather have seen on-page. A lot of hard moments that we all know are in the horizon, but that we never see the couple tackle together.

Those missing scenes were kind of why I read the book in the first place. I wanted to see someone actually living with their mental illness and fill their life with meaning again. What I got was yet another glittering tale of falling in love, but I wanted it to be so much more. It seemed to really get its characters and had all the ingredients to be more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Outing

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Toxic friendship

Minor: Biphobia, Drug use, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

jdasilva's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Cursing, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Alcohol

adrianas65's review

challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted sad fast-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Alcohol, and Classism

lost_windsock's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny 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

I absolutely loved Darian. I loved Ash, as well, but Darian was the literal shining star of this book. His ability to be himself, see Ash for who he was, and love him despite how difficult Ash made it, was just a treat. It was clear throughout the book that Darian didn't have the most confidence in himself, but he powered through that to be as glitteringly incandescent as he was anyway. The character growth of both Darian and Ash was so sweet to see, and I even thought I would hate Niall forever at the beginning and I ended up liking him, too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

mandaraffe's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Moderate: Ableism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Fatphobia and Abandonment

dashboardlights24601's review

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Drug use