Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Faithful by Alice Hoffman

7 reviews

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense 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

A novel about humanity — the hurts, the successes, and everything in between. Shelby is all of us, trying to figure out how to live alongside the things she’s done, not realizing that she is more like the people around her than she believes. I love the way Hoffman writes you into the world she’s creating — and this novel is no different than the others I’ve read by her in that regard, however, I did find it interesting that this novel is not a work of historical fiction. Regardless, I enjoyed this novel just as much as all the historical novels I’ve read by her.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

giannaareneee's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

stellarkai's review

dark emotional

• 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Rape

Moderate: Drug abuse and Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

ayanez427's review

emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug use

awebofstories's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

Grade: A+

I must admit that I picked this book up because it was short.  I had just a bit of the month left, and I wanted something short to get me through to the end of April (side note: I missed that by one day!)  What I thought would be a quick read ended up being a story that struck me to my core and would stay with me long after I finished the book.

We meet Shelby when she is in the depths of clinical depression and PTSD after surviving a tragic accident that left her best friend essentially brain-dead.  After starting something more than a business relationship with her pot dealer, she leaves her hometown with him to start a new life in the Big Apple.  Here, she finds a community in the most unexpected places.

My first impression of this book is that Hoffman flawlessly captured Shelby's state of mind.  While Shelby is at her low point at the beginning of the book, it is clear that depression is the background music to her life--sometimes muted and sometimes dramatic.  Shelby truly believes she lacks any value in life, and it takes her found family to teach her the depth of her worth.

I have never had a bad experience with Alice Hoffman's work.  Her prose is hypnotic and comforting.  While many of her books have a healthy dose of magical realism, that element is muted here.  I can't complain about that--I don't think this story would work as well if there were an element of the fantastical.

Upon finishing this book, I got down to the business of recommending it to some of my closest reading friends.  Shelby and her story will impact anyone and make any reader a better person for experiencing it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Stalking

frantically's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

Such a beautiful book. I've been having a really bad reading year but this is finally my second 5-star read. Hoffman writes in such a compelling way that at some point I didn't even notice the big time jumps anymore (about 10 years!). I'm such a hooker for character-focused stories, so this was right up my lane! Would definitely recommend it for anyone whose trying to get into litfic, you won't go wrong with this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, and Grief

Minor: Sexual assault, Medical content, and Car accident

caitatkins's review against another edition

emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Drug use