Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

101 reviews

abirej's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense 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

4.0

What I love is that the focus is where it should be—on the Bright Young Women one disgusting misogynist saught to dampen, their lives and legacy and families that STILL grieve. Excellently told, though watch out for that last Ruth chapter if you’re sensitive to some of the triggers mentioned. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Stalking, Grief, Torture, Sexual violence, Lesbophobia, and Sexual assault

themis_biblos's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

 I have such mixed feelings about this. The idea, the writing, the discussions it provokes should all be five stars. However:
1. In the acknowledgements Knoll thanks Kathy Kleiner Rubin, giving the impression that Knoll spoke to her and had her permission to tell this, albeit fictional, story. I've since seen people allegedly close to Kathy saying that that never happened. I'm sceptical - if that's true, Rubin's name surely wouldn't have made it into the acknowledgements? I don't know.
2. I loved, loved, loved the way Knoll discusses what a pathetic man The Defendant in reality was - contrary to how he was and continues to be portrayed, what the women (both those who survived and those who didn't) went through - not just on the night it happened, but after in the news, in the courtroom, in the public. How they were judged, written and gossipped about without their consent or input. However - why then did Knoll choose to write about them yet again, even if in this case the focus was on the women? She could have made it entirely fictional and it still would have hit.
3. A minor detail: It drove me up the wall how Knoll had the characters speak through their body language, but then always explained what gestures meant in italics right after!

But all that said, I was still impressed and moved and sad. 

 "They just don't want her to get hysterical," I said in the family's defense. Tina scoffed. "And so? What's wrong with being hysterical? It's a hysterical thing that happened." 

 I'd been asked to go over it so many times already that I was starting to feel like certain aspects of my story were more hindrance than help, that I ought to simplify it. No one tells you that the truest stories are the messy, unwieldy ones, that you will be tempted to trim in the places that make people scratch their heads. It takes fortitude to remain a true and constant witness, and I did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Grief, Blood, Body horror, Misogyny, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexism, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Death, Medical trauma, Rape, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Stalking, Classism, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Drug use

betag1013's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Biphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Cursing, Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Body horror, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Bullying, Gun violence, Incest, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Outing, Grief, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Dementia, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, and Vomit

burnourhistory's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Sexism, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Violence, Death, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Death of parent, Mental illness, Dementia, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Car accident

herperfume's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Outside of a show like "I Survived," rarely are victims the center of true crime stories. And rarely do we follow them in the days, weeks, months, and years afterwards. We don't see how an event ripples through the immediate community of the victim. Bright Young Women does this. It also shines a light on why the families of some missing women don't report them as such. The fact that the author never uses the name of the perpetrator is a powerful move, even if it is obvious who it is supposed to be. Removing his name and focusing on the lives of the victims changes how we think of true crime and it's reporting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

ehoustonmyatt's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Torture, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Murder, and Sexual assault

namirasrot's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Misogyny, Violence, and Sexual assault

emily_mae08's review against another edition

dark sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Dementia, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, and Sexual violence

thissagreads's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

1.75

Loved that the author did not glorify or glamorize the killer. But The Place was too slow. Additionally, when listening to the audio, there were too many time jumps back and forth without clarification, and I felt the story dragged out much longer than needed. Basically this is a story based on

Ted Bundy and the monstrous murder crimes he committed at a FL girls sorority house,

but no one really figures out how to move forward or heal, and it’s realistic and quite saddening. I think the book got caught in the weeds of how much men and misogynistic viewpoints by the general public are total garbage, because I feel like it’s common knowledge now. And I could be wrong, but glorifying a murderer because of his looks is terribly wild and sadistic. So while I’m glad the characters were fighting against stupid judicial systems, looking for justice, I wish the focus was more on the healing and grief journey. Lots of trauma too so reader be wary.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Stalking, Rape, Misogyny, and Body horror

Moderate: Homophobia

alexflagg's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Dementia, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Murder, Sexism, and Homophobia

Minor: Body shaming, Incest, Eating disorder, and Forced institutionalization