Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

10 reviews

pewterwolf's review against another edition

emotional sad

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

3.5

This is one of those books where it feels like every one has either read or know the vague outline of. And the author of this is one of those authors that I have been meaning to read for YEARS, but I keep putting off due to the Hype Monster that surround them and their novels.

this is very much not my typical go-to read.

And yet, I found this quite a compelling read. Even though it took me a few weeks to read (mainly because I was focused on other things so reading took a back seat), I kept coming back to this messy family drama and these quite unlikeable characters. Ok, mainly unlikeable is the wrong word. Flawed and selfish.

The parents are so focused on her ill child, they forget about their other children (the mother more than the father). The eldest son is forgotten and considered a disappointment by his parents so he acts out. Anna feels like she has no voice or choice, but is uncertain over her choices and Kate who wants some control over her life but is unable to due to her illness.

I think that, yes, even though these characters are really flawed and make/do quite unlikeable things, I found them really interesting to read as, yes, they are flawed and make some really questionable decisions, but you see where they are all coming from.

It’s a nice relief to have Anna’s lawyer, Campbell, and Julia, the court appointed Guardian ad litem storyline running alongside. We have Campbell who has a service dog but we don’t know where and we have Campbell and Julia having a teen romance, but Julia (and the reader) don’t know why Campbell
ended it.

So, as you guess, I did like it. I didn’t love it, but I think that’s because I was on my guard with it. You see, I knew that the movie adaptation of this was changed and, even though I haven’t seen the film, I knew what the ending was changed from so I knew where this was going so I couldn’t invest in these characters like I should have. But would I have liked this twist in the tale had I not known? I have no idea. I would be shocked and I think I would have been very annoyed/angry over it.

And yes, I was very aware that this book was trying to emotionally-manipulate me on multiply occasions.

While I’m not sure if this book deserves all the attention that it has received, I am glad I have finally got round to reading it and I do plan to read more Jodi Picoult in the coming months (I have my eye on either Nineteen Minutes, Small Great Things or A Spark of Light, but we shall see where I go next…)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Blood, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

mzmymt89's review against another edition

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing and Sexual content

fernash's review against another edition

reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Blood, Car accident, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

Pedophilia tag for mention in joke, no pedophilia actually occurs.

hannah_beth_charles's review against another edition

hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

I found myself skipping paragraphs because some of the metaphors were so boring and unnecessary that I found it was a waste of time. I also hated Picoult's writing style and the way she made the men's POVs full of vulgar language or shallow thoughts, like "boys will be boys".

I think that Anna's death was Jesse's punishment for starting fires and putting other's lives at risk. It's not fair for him to just be let off without punishment. The ending was quite surprising but and almost lazy. There's no way that Anna would have an unstrained relationship with her parents after she tried to sue them, and Kate's death would be blamed on Anna. Anna needed to die for the story to conclude. Kate becoming a ballet teacher is unrealistic and I know it was her dream, but she hadn't done ballet before, and ballet isn't a sport you can just do. It takes years of training.  

I couldn't care less Campbell and Julia's relationship. They're both toxic and Julia is desperate to be different. Julias losing her virginity on a gravestone was just odd.

I hated that throughout the novel, Sara was trying to be redeemed as a good mother or at least trying her best in a complicated situation. She had Anna just to save Kate. She probably wouldn't have had Anna if Kate wasn't sick. What irked me most was at the end when she said that she would send her one child in a fire to save the other child and she was willing to risk losing them both. That is so selfish because Sara sacrificing their lives. That's not fair and is plain wrong. She is not put in any danger.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Car accident

Moderate: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Addiction and Alcohol

kaz_brekkerrr's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Vomit

obsessor_of_books's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

jenna_justi2004's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Wow. I spent the entirety of the book thinking I’d know how it would end because I saw the movie. I was wrong. Like violently wrong in a way that has be concerned for the author. After all that Anna did, she fucking died randomly. She finally got what she wanted and so did Kate. And then she dies bro I can’t imagine how the judge feels. Ohmygod, what if it was a drunk driver. She was always destined to give her a kidney. I can’t do this anymore. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

ansfaiv'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Excrement, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

theseasoul's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Medical content

Moderate: Cursing and Vomit

aimeal815's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-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

3.0

I wouldn’t say I’m upset with this book, because I thought the story was really interesting, but I am definitely upset with aspects of it. I found it very difficult to read at times because I was having trouble sympathizing with a lot of the characters. It felt like some of the conflicts were very needless

such as the whole thing with Campbell and Julia

. I also found the ending incredibly upsetting. I know that that was the whole point, but it felt almost ridiculous.

It made me feel almost like I wasted my time following Anna’s whole story for it to just be thrown away at the end like that.

That being said, it was a very complex plot with a lot of complex characters, and I can appreciate that because that’s just how life is. It’s just that there were too many parts of it that I had trouble with in order to really love it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcoholism, Excrement, and Alcohol