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battybookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I will also say, this book is written very specifically in the US and takes a lot of culture and history as a source for its plot. However, the author is not from the US and there were many random wording errors that made it rather disbelievingly placed in the US (some things felt rather obvious like how we say going to the hospital rather than being in hospital, likely could've been edited out at some point). I don't think this is the worst offense in books, but I do think that it allowed the author to sort of surface level many of the characters without giving them backing to actually make sense in the world. This is mostly a racial thing, basically every major character is a POC but it feels silly at the end when this is suddenly revealed.
Beyond all that, my favorite part was Kirby and there's a part of me that still wants more of her. I wish the book had given her more time, made her more central. It focused so intently on Harper and his murders when we already kinda had the gist there. Kirby was complex and strange and I never felt like we saw that as internally or fully as we did Harper's getting his rocks off.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gaslighting, Gore, Stalking, Body horror, Medical trauma, Death, Murder, Violence, Misogyny, Grief, Medical content, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Abortion, Addiction, and Drug use
This book depicts multiple graphic murder events in fairly slim but clear detail. If you cannot stomach violence that includes stabbing and gore, I would recommended missing this book.thero159's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Overall, The Shining Girls, as a novel, is like the girls within its pages- it had potential but was cut short before it could ‘shine’. You could have taken away the time travel and shining elements as neither concept was properly explored and you would have had a very basic serial killer thriller. The climax of the plot was disappointing and rushed; the main characters just stumbled through the mystery and the killer felt very tropey. I'm not sure who I can recommend this book to, as crime fans will find the mystery lacking and the science fiction aspect is very limited and may disappoint sci-fi fans. The Shining Girls is not a terrible book but it did leave me disappointed.
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Grief, Animal death, Murder, and Blood
jamiejanae_6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Abortion, Alcohol, Grief, Animal cruelty, Classism, Cursing, Gore, Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Stalking, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
sunnysiding's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Lost a star for the bizarre subplot of Dan being in love with Kirby.
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Gore, Suicide, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Stalking
Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Abortion, Sexual content, Medical content, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy, Homophobia, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Deadnaming, Rape, and Sexual harassment
There is an entire chapter that heavily features animal injury/death:chloemakesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Abortion, Ableism, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Sexual content
co2lreads's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Murder, Stalking, and Animal death
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Grief