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nikkibisbee's reviews
25 reviews
Lie with Me by Philippe Besson
challenging
fast-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? Yes
4.0
Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Cost by Roxana Robinson
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD.
I have someone I love that is a recovering heroin addict, so I went into this book with some pre-concieved notions of what it would be like. After all... I've lived it.
This book did not meet my standards. I wanted so badly to love it. It was like reading about drug addiction from someone who only knows about addiction from watching Breaking Bad. I felt the characters weren't developed enough. What is the root of the reason Jack is a drug addict? There should have been more background to play off of. I would have loved to have known more about their childhood, how Julia and Wendall's marriage feel apart... even more about how Julia and Harriet were raised and how that lended a hand into their relationship with their parents. So much backstory could have been used and really made for a wonderful book.
Also... the actual drug aspect was ok. The intervention pulled at the heartstrings for sure. But- not all drug use takes place is smelly New York apartments. It can happen in the bathroom of your well lit home after a spaghetti dinner on a Sunday afternoon. It doesn't always have to be cliche. At this point, drugs affect most everyone in some shape or form, whether that be through a family member or a friend, or themselves.
I have someone I love that is a recovering heroin addict, so I went into this book with some pre-concieved notions of what it would be like. After all... I've lived it.
This book did not meet my standards. I wanted so badly to love it. It was like reading about drug addiction from someone who only knows about addiction from watching Breaking Bad. I felt the characters weren't developed enough. What is the root of the reason Jack is a drug addict? There should have been more background to play off of. I would have loved to have known more about their childhood, how Julia and Wendall's marriage feel apart... even more about how Julia and Harriet were raised and how that lended a hand into their relationship with their parents. So much backstory could have been used and really made for a wonderful book.
Also... the actual drug aspect was ok. The intervention pulled at the heartstrings for sure. But- not all drug use takes place is smelly New York apartments. It can happen in the bathroom of your well lit home after a spaghetti dinner on a Sunday afternoon. It doesn't always have to be cliche. At this point, drugs affect most everyone in some shape or form, whether that be through a family member or a friend, or themselves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Dementia
Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates
Did not finish book. Stopped at 36%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 36%.
I didn’t feel a connection to the characters outside of what happened in the beginning.
Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Less People Know about Us: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity by Axton Betz-Hamilton
dark
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
3.0
Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
emotional
sad
tense
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
4.75