Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

10 reviews

runes_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

No spoiler review!
5/5 stars
Read for 2 hours and 41 minutes according to Libby, and picked it up four times (so like 40ish minutes average per sitting)
LOVED this story! The characters were so incredible and interesting, I cared so much for all of them. The POV switching was great and easy to follow, the vibes and word choice and IMAGERY was just amazing. Every character was so distinct and their own whole person. Some stories with POV switching and this many characters get sort of muddled, this certainly did not. It took me a while to love the characters, but once I did? They were so life like. All in all, a wonderful book that made me cry. There are some pretty heavy topics though, so make sure to check with the content warnings first

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Cursing, Sexual assault, and Gun violence

ghostlyprince's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Emotional abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Suicide attempt, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Minor: Abandonment, Classism, Racism, Vomit, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol

fireandstars's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

its_madi's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Rape and Misogyny

greeneggsandsam's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

4.25

 Sawkill Girls is a YA horror with a bit of a fantasy element to it. Marion's mother and sister have just lost their father, and they move to an island called Sawkill Rock to live in a cottage on the Mortimer's property and become their maids. This novel follows Marion's persepctive, as well as Val and Zoey who already lived on the island. Young girls have been going missing for decades, and when the killing rate increases drastically, these three girls find themselves tangled up in a dangerous world of monsters they never knew existed. 
 This is the first horror novel I've ever read, so I didn't know what to expect. I'm happy to say I was VERY happy with this book. While being a horror, there was some fantastically developed parts of the book, and that made me like it even more as a fantasy lover. Legrand also did a good job at writing something scary, because I had to put the book down at times from being so spooked out (and reading in a basement by myself at 2 am). Despite being something I'm not used to reading, I flew through this book and didn't want to put it down. Sawkill Girls is also queer and Sapphic. I feel like the relationships in the book are well developed, and Zoey's love interest makes me absolutely swoon!
 I am definitely interested in reading more horror, and I am stoked that this is the one I started the genre with because it's amazing. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Physical abuse

Minor: Rape

larabezzina's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Death of parent, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcohol and Vomit

akthackray's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Good ace rep, but very much not about that more about the mystery and adventure (which I like!), not aro

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Animal death

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Minor: Rape, Car accident, and Child abuse

marieketron's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A pretty average read compared to weird (monster) mysteries I read last year. The inclusion and diversity elements were really strong, to the point of occasionally feeling like the reader is being mildly lectured, but I appreciated the message that just because someone regrets and repents for their actions doesn't mean you're obliged to forgive them. The monster elements felt relatively tame, and I felt like the plot could have been a lot shorter, but overall a fine read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Animal death, Death, Child death, Gore, Body horror, Blood, Vomit, Sexual violence, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Rape, Bullying, Confinement, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Minor: Cursing

annaonthepage's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

Concept, execution, representation... Not for me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Rape

otherworlds's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this is a fun, twisty horror story with a powerful narrative of loss, solidarity, and reclamation of both self and power by those who have been robbed of both.

the characters are each memorable and ridiculously easy to love. their relationships, whether they be platonic or romantic, are all meaningful and dynamic in their own ways. this is not a romance, but the romantic elements are beautifully told. the plot is structured well - once it catches you in its grasp, it never lets you go. it has a good balance of sudden scares, slowly creeping dread, and quieter, softer moments, which i find vital to any horror story. and legrand's evocative, poetic style really brought this book from 'good' to 'amazing'.

i only have two criticisms. one - the sections from

the rock's

point of view are largely unnecessary and actually take away a little of the mystery. i really would have preferred to unfold the mystery along with the girls and had things explained at the climax, instead of being fed hints all along by an omniscient narrator. second, the misogynistic dialogue from certain characters was way too heavy-handed. it took focus off of the main characters' internal struggles and threw the scene off in a way that didn't feel natural to it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Self harm, Child abuse, Grief, Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Torture

Moderate: Pedophilia and Rape

Explicit, graphic depiction of cults, grooming, and aphobia.