Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - Bright Young Women

Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

41 reviews

vicious's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

4.75

I can't stop thinking about this book. It has left an indelible impression on me.

I listened to it via audiobook which may have been to my advantage as I never felt bogged down by the writing style (it's also very much my style anyway, so it's plausible reading it physically would have been fine). The narrators were incredible.

It's true that Pamela is a bit insufferable in the beginning; there were times where she could be grating, but I think that's the mark of a dynamic character. Over time, she really grew on me, and I think that's partly because she herself went through significant growth. I eventually began eagerly looking forward to her chapters.

Ruth could also be equally as insufferable; again, this isn't a flaw of the book. Quite the opposite. Characters with distinct flaws are, in my opinion, easier to adore.

I love that the book never called the killer anything but "the defendant," robbing him of a name and the fictional fame tied to him. Yes, he is reminiscent of Bundy, but that's not what matters. The book is about the victims, both those who died and those who survived. And it's about the mark left on the survivors for the remainder of their lives. It's a bittersweet tale. Not happy, certainly sad, but definitive and concise. It's not supposed to be a happy tale, but neither does it need to be a tragedy.

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spicycronereads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Ack! Audiobook loan expired before I finished! So I ended up listening to most of this book and then having a pretty long gap between when I heard the last two hours or so. Thinking back to my initial listen and thoughts, I didn’t really find the characters likable. There was enough of a mystery to keep me engaged though.

It’s a thriller with no romance elements. The story is narrated from two points of view over multiple time periods. So that gets a little confusing. And then at the end suddenly there’s a male narrator which really felt like it came out of left field. A lot of the narrative hinges on women bonding together over the violence done by men and forming support networks among systems that failed them.

In terms of diversity there are a few lesbian characters. No racial diversity that I can tell. And obviously no spice or swooniness.

Overall, it was an entertaining listen. The mystery of how everything fit together and the larger themes of society failing women were pretty engaging. Don’t know that I’ll ever need to listen to it or read it again.

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abbyrose333's review against another edition

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challenging emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This is either a 4.5 or a 5 star book. The writing is impeccable, the story is flawless.
I listened to this book on audio and I found myself zoning out and missing parts but that is not a flaw of the book or audio.

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oz2021's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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hannahduda's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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sdcalgirl's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

Beautiful story speaking against sensationalizing serial killers and revealing the truth of how they are true, despicable garbage. The women and survivors who continue to fight are the real heroes 🫶🏼

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