Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

12 reviews

k84's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

Morally ambiguous and moving. 1st person peripheral perspective was flawless and created a slow building mystery that I couldn’t help but get wrapped up in. Big themes at play here: religious trauma, sexual abuse, grief, patriarchy, medical malfeasance, immigration, historical context, savior complex, journalistic integrity, ethics … almost too many ways to view the emotional complexities of each character… but nevertheless you find yourself mulling them over because there’s enough depth to, lol, ‘wonder’ about the human condition in all it’s multifaceted glory. Not a 5 because it didn’t stir my soul, but a solid 4 for voice, writing, character development, pacing, and complex themes. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Eating disorder, Incest, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Xenophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma

jan_coco_day's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Donoghue somehow manages to write some of the most fucked up things I've ever read without writing in the horror genre.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

Minor: Sexual violence

sarah_kula's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Incest, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War

kelly_e's review

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

Title: The Wonder
Author: Emma Donoghue
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.50
Pub Date: September 20, 2016

T H R E E • W O R D S

Intriguing • Mystifying • Distinctive

📖 S Y N O P S I S

A village in 1850s Ireland is baffled by Anna O’Donnell’s fast. A little girl appears to be thriving after months without food, and the story of this 'wonder' has reached fever pitch.

Tourists flock in droves to the O'Donnell family's modest cabin, and an international journalist is sent to cover the sensational story. Enter Lib, an English nurse trained by Florence Nightingale, who is hired to keep watch for two weeks and determine whether or not Anna is a fraud.

As Anna deteriorates, Lib finds herself responsible not just for the care of a child, but for getting to the root of why the child may actually be the victim of murder in slow motion.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Emma Donoghue writes such compelling and distinctive tales unlike anything else and in such a way that I am kept guessing from start to finish. This is precisely why she became one of my auto-buy authors. The Wonder has say unread on my shelf for several years, but with the release of a a full-length film in late 2022, I decided I needed to move it up my TBR before watching.

And what a unique book! Similar Donoghue's past books I've read, it took a good 50 pages to be fully engaged, yet as the story progresses it gets stronger and stronger until the dramatic grande finale. Despite the slow start, I found myself instantly curious to see how everything would unfold. My interest and suspicious continued to rise until everything comes together in the end. It's hard to say too much without giving away big parts of the story, but I just couldn't predict where it was going to go.

Donoghue has a very distinctive writing style, and her phenomenal writing was definitely on display throughout. The characters are well developed that I wanted to know more about each of them. Anna and Lib's relationship flourishes over their time together, even though it is so short. And the setting helped created an atmosphere of lies and secrets.

Bringing together science, religion, and superstation in a variety of ways, The Wonder was such a unique and thought-provoking story. While it started out slow, the ending was highly fitting and the narrative speaks to the power of two strangers coming together to transform each others lives.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Emma Donoghue fans
• readers looking to diversify their historical fiction repertoire

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Good nurses follow rules," Lib growled, "but the best know when to break them."

"I must be cruel, only to be kind." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Body horror, Misogyny, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury

vixenreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.25

Despite how dry it can be at times, the mystery keeps you on edge, the lead is fascinating, and it reveals the darkest paths people will take to protect themselves and their reputations. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Incest, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing

Be aware that there is sibling incest, Münchausen syndrome by proxy, slut-shaming, and changing identities in order to get out of a hostile situation.

orizenda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

I rly liked this one. Lib is so multifaceted imo. a lot of the characters are. feels kind of anti irish tho at times but maybe i just read it wrong interpreted it wrong. anyway, excited to read more of Donoghues work idk if she’s written anything else i just love her character development

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Rape, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

amyjmcd's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest, Xenophobia, Vomit, and War

Fasting

zoecjohnson's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Kidnapping

Minor: Child death, Death, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Blood, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury

cammiem8's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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? No

4.5

Had to read this after seeing the newly released Netflix movie, which I thought was phenomenal.  As someone who had some compulsive behaviors in relation to religion as a child, I found this to be a very thoughtful examination of how belief can cause harm. The main relationship of the novel between Lib and Anna is touching and written with a real tenderness and care. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Eating disorder

Moderate: Child death, Incest, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Kidnapping

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

While the fast is religiously based, I would not be likely to recommend this book to a person with a history of disordered eating, especially anorexia. Also contains depiction of the famine during the Irish potato blight

ilana_pop's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Eating disorder

Moderate: Incest, Rape, and Kidnapping