Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - Ett år av vila och avkoppling

Wow, I really don’t know where to begin with this one. I was attracted to the premise because I do think that engaging in rest is an act of rebellion in our capitalistic society, so I was curious to see what this would look like for the main character as she sought healing. While trauma and poor mental health can lead to maladaptive behaviors, I found myself very frustrated with the main character, her shitty behaviors, and complete apathy (and maybe actual hatred??) for every person she interacted with. As a very relational person, I struggled to relate and empathize with her. I also struggled on this front when it came to the MC’s privilege— you’re telling me that you have the financial means necessary to completely take off work for a year and still have plenty of financial stability and you choose to spend that *entire* year drugging yourself to sleep? I feel that there are other (more effective) ways to grow and heal as a person, but that’s just me… I’m a big fan of sleep (nap queen, truly), but I fail to see how abusing sleep medications so you can sleep literally all the time is healing and allows a fresh start. And in those waking moments, the focus is on “I’m still beautiful despite how others would look in my situation” and “Ew, how gross that other people are experiencing feelings and grief”. All of this paired with a “redemption/growth arc” that consisted of the MC finding beauty and meaning as she repeatedly watches a news clip of a woman jumping out of the Twin Towers on 9/11 just felt icky. Overall, I appreciate the nuance when it comes to depicting the human experience, but… this just wasn’t it for me.

Content Warnings

kierrareads_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

2.0

this was low-key terrible. I thought the writing itself was really good but the main character... she just pissed me off. to a degree i didn't think possible. I have NEVER read a character so pick me like in my life. every chapter it was her talking about how pretty and skinny and white and blonde she was and how reva just wants to be like her but she never will because she's poor and ugly. and her "development" at the end was barely even there I mean come on you go on a walk and feed frosted flakes to squirrels get a hold of yourself.

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soupygirly's review against another edition

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dark slow-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 have never read something like this before. Annoyingly repetitive and boring but so captivating and beautifully written at the same time.

The last sentence left me stunned because I couldn’t believe that there was no other page coming after this. The narrator needs professional help and definitely not from Dr. Tuttle. I fear I didn’t exactly hate her though… in a way I kind of got her. Couldn’t really blame her somehow. For some things. The ending left me unsatisfied, as already predicted halfway through.

I’m undecided about recommending this book. The concept itself was intriguing, that’s why I picked it up in the first place, but it definitely could have been used better. After reading various reviews I came to the conclusion that it has the potential to change your life but it probably will not. Very overrated in my opinion.

Gonna take a nap now. ⋆⭒˚☾⋆.˚

Content Warnings

bunnoid's review against another edition

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dark

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

3.0

my year of sedation and being a shitty friend and person

Content Warnings

loudkidatthelibrary's review against another edition

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dark sad 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? Yes

3.0

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ewicht830's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

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krosebooks's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Majority of the book is kinda a sleep haze. The writing style is uniquely weird like a dream that doesn’t make any sense. She transforms her self harm into a form of meditation, letting her subconscious do the work.

The ending is amazingly dark and beautiful.

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roshnimc's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Very well written. The characters are not meant to be liked but are drawn so three-dimensional that we could identify them if we met them.

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