Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

45 reviews

vaykay's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I read this because I watched @newlynova's YouTube reading vlog "until she read a five star book," and wow... she was right. I sobbed, and I slobbered into my pajama shirt.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Police brutality, and Car accident

klandry98's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood, Medical content, Stalking, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Alcohol

santaggy's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

One of the best books I've ever read in my life.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Excrement

ricedeveloper13's review

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

the fact that they’re preserving packer’s thesis by thinking of alternate realities of themselves and others, critiquing though that they don’t get different realties because of packer but instead become people consumed by packer, yet they’re reflecting the thoughts made by packer only extending packer’s legacy without his knowledge past death, while still criticizing him having a legacy at all is just so absolutely insane and sick and twisted and i’m dead 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Abandonment

hilivingston7's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was pretty unsettling at the beginning as I waited for the shoe to drop. I appreciated that the author kept the murders off the page and really gave a non biased perspective from each character. I think the ultimate ending and build up to the execution highlight the performative nature of executions 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Murder

mand_al_orian's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

queenofvrything's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Disturbing, thought-provoking, and sad. Danya Kukafka shows the complexity of humanity through this non-linear tale, where honestly I didn’t feel much more than sadness by the end. The themes that stuck with me begs the questions: what is evil, are the choices made by some fully their own, and if fault can ever be put on just one person?

I’ll admit, adult Ansel made my skin crawl, but a small part of me couldn’t stop thinking of the poor child in the farmhouse, and how different his life could have been. Was he born a psychopath, or did the brain damage from the doorframe cause it? I enjoyed the insight to how his brain worked, how there was indeed both good and bad in him and that he had a core lack of understanding of who he was. Ansel felt like a boat untethered throughout life, until finding the blue house. 

I do love the focus on the victims, both living and dead, and the refusal to forget them as the story progressed. I also love that there was no one way to feel. Danya made the POV characters flawed and real, without pushing a specific narrative.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Mental illness, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Child death

izypup's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Stalking, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

_booksandbells's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Murder, and Abandonment

savreads28's review

dark emotional informative 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment