Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Post-Traumatic by Chantal V. Johnson

27 reviews

kimikreil's review

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Body shaming, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Violence, Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Alcohol, Drug use, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders

chasinggrace's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

Vivian is so relatable to the female psyche that you want to hate her, but you can’t, because staunchly hating her would ignore how much you have in common with her. 

The writing is refreshingly modern without being cringey (which doesn’t mean that you won’t cringe at Vivian, but to her credit, she is funny). 

I really think this book is a fantastic snapshot of the modern anxious woman and how she must navigate a world that is positively fucked. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Rape, Classism, Medical content, Fatphobia, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Addiction, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Racism, and Sexual content

creativerunnings's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Classism, Death, Alcohol, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

sarcomatic's review against another edition

dark funny 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? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this novel. I appreciated that the author took time to go into the effects of estrangement after the abuse as I don’t see that experience written about as much. Vivian is a beautiful depiction of someone who has experienced some serious trauma because she feels REAL. Her fear, her anger, her harsh judgement of herself and others was, at times, difficult to read but gave it depth. It also is a great read about the effects of misogynoir, class, and sanism interact with each other and compound trauma on an individual.

Also her therapy sessions actually felt like I was in therapy, and I’ll have to take a couple pages of this book with me in the future… literally haha

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Moderate: Child abuse and Rape

This character has a LOT of disordered eating/ body image isssue thoughts throughout the book that go almost completely unchallenged. If that would be something triggering I would recommend avoiding this book.

eddaderya's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

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

0.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Rape

kquixotic's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.5

I wanted to think carefully before writing this review because I struggled to like this book, but I felt like a jerk about that.

This is a very realistic (and sometimes TOO real) observation of the life of someone who has survived sexual assault, racial and gender-based trauma. I am generally compelled by such characters, but I was annoyed with Vivian as well as all of her friends. Admittedly, this could have been because I recognized a lot of myself in many of her traits. That’s something I’m willing to muck around in IF there’s a good story happening within and around the characters. 

But I kept looking for a plot and simply couldn’t find one. Every trail felt like a sub-plot, and I never understood where we were going. It just felt like gratuitous interloping in the life of someone (understandably) struggling with family, romance, career and mental health, literally to no end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Child abuse, and Violence

schwelo's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

This is a story about surviving trauma, taking control back, and struggling when old coping skills no longer work. There are moments of darkness and anxiety, but it’s told with a kind of brutal honesty and wit that keeps you engaged in the story and understanding the main character’s perspective even as her life unravels and she finds a new path forward.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Body shaming, and Child abuse

siriface's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicide

selfdubbed's review

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Rape, and Self harm

eslsilver's review

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fatphobia, Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Racism, Stalking, Rape, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Kidnapping