Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

32 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I loved The Goldfinch and was expecting to love this one too, but instead, I’m unclear why this book was such a big deal. The whole time, I keep wondering if this book inspired Shonda Rhimes into How to Get Away with Murder, and like that TV show, I hated the premise of the plot and still watched every episode and read every page, and in the end, all I am left is to wonder why I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ctb681's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

It’s a book that will leave you devastated once you finish the last sentence. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Violence

Moderate: Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child abuse and Car accident

naomi_salters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

eveybrittin's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

I feel like the content warnings sum it up... a well-written but strange and fairly boring novel. I had hope for the characters but they just weren't good people

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Grief

Minor: Cursing

lucyford's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing 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

5.0

This book was SO GOOD. I don’t even know how to describe it in a way that truly encapsulates everything good about it. The plot is so well-written, and is really brought to life by the amazing writing style and slight poetic element to it, and all the atmospheres she creates just feel so real. Not to mention the foreshadowing (when you’re reading, you know it’s foreshadowing to something but you don’t know what it’s foreshadowing to, which is just so cool), and the fact that you’re always wondering how the story is possibly going to progress from point A to point B. The characters are all so complicated and interesting, and the themes of the books are very philosophical which makes the book all the more interesting. Overall, 10/10 read, absolutely exceeded my expectations. (ALSO THE ENDING??? CAUGHT ME SO OFF GUARD OMG)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

neliadiedenise's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

karinaymejia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

3.25

great for people who dont like too many things going on, thriller, and classics.

i feel like the title is a bit dramatic for the story. it makes sense of course, but i feel like there should have been another title used for it.

this book is slow and may feel boring at times. it's interesting to see how the story progresses. i am personally not a huge fan of this style. i sort of liked the read. i wanted a more dramatic story, but thats my cup of tea.

i like the time period where this is in because I get to read what it feels like during this time.

i find it unsettling about the characters that Richard encounters and becomes friends with. I think Charles and Henry make me the most unsettling, especially near the end.

overall i had a bit of higher expectations because of the popularity. i understand the mixed reviews now!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse

incest

sadiaa's review against another edition

dark

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

dennyiii's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

doriandelioncourt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism