Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Minne virta kuljettaa by Shelley Read

33 reviews

katharina90's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.0

A slow, sad, reflective book with interesting themes, some of which I wish had been explored more (or differently). Some elements of the story felt rushed or underdeveloped. At times it also just dragged.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Miscarriage, Colonisation, and War

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

0.5

this was so so disappointing. the characters are incredibly one dimensional and stereotypical, the plot is incredibly unbelievable and boring, and the author used the singular Indigenous American character is barely featured and simply used to further the main characters story and then thrown away. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

rudy23's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Drug use, Car accident, and Death of parent

erinwea's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Beautifully written. Loved the
Colorado history and geography.  A little too much trauma for 5 stars, but overall redemptive.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

maryfranvs's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Sexism, Car accident, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Infertility and Sexual content

sophiafpeach's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

saramariebt's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Xenophobia, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and War

nimeneth's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

This was a beautifully written book, and sometimes I felt like I could almost smell Colorado (and never having visited, either), but pretty scenery and writing don't make a great book.

It was solidly good, definitely a moving exploration of grief and forgiveness and moving on. I'm not really happy with the overall portrayal of men - all of them were either basically all good or all bad when they were more than just a name on a page like most of the Iola townsfolk were, and black and white viewpoints don't always make for great reading. I did like Victoria's work on the peach farm, when it was mentioned upon, and the fact that a menagerie of animals kept popping up in the background made it feel a little real. But honestly, nothing much happens, and especially in the first quarter or so, Victoria reads like an observer in her own life. I'm glad she found a little more agency. I do wish part 3 hadn't skipped over a full decade, and that the ending had actually added a little more, but I'm not disappointed with having taken the time with this one.

Also, why did we learn so much about the men in Victoria's life (Cal, Og, Seth, her dad) when she basically stopped talking about all of them once they physically left the scene? They all get like one line of ending, and that's not even enough to tie up the loose ends that are still flapping around.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Miscarriage, Car accident, and Sexual harassment

sarahweyand's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Every time I finish a book, my husband will always ask what it was about. This is one of the few books where my answer is "How much time do you have?"; it's near impossible to give an easy synopsis of what I read here, but I do know that I enjoyed it.

This was a book about many things: family, love, loss, motherhood, perseverance, survival. It made me think about a lot of big questions without posing them directly or giving me an answer. The prose was wonderful to listen to (I enjoyed the audiobook), and the atmosphere felt like a dappled summer day, which is a nice change given that it's snowing outside.

Pacing here was medium-slow, especially because it was hard to tell where the plot was going at times. But I was always interested in listening and I felt like I really cared about our protagonist. I also really, really liked where this book ended. Perfect choice.

I'd definitely pick up something else by Shelley Read and will look out for future releases of hers! Give this one a read if you like historical fiction and heavy slice-of-life, introspective novels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

mdavis26's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail