Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

197 reviews

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

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

threedimen's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual violence, Rape, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, Gore, Sexual assault, and Violence

tddaffin's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, and Violence

jettaparadis's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

The way the bonds between women are written, both within the sorority and otherwise is the reason I could not put this book down. It felt refreshing to not read about the deaf dent being cunning or smart. Men, and everyone, should read this 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Rape, and Body horror

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

twilightfan420's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

I listened to this as an audiobook and loved it! Especially Tina and Ruth’s stories <3 It’s rare for me to find a split POV book where I like both narrators equally, but both Ruth and Pamela had so much strength and character development in their own ways. And the lemon shark was mentioned! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Rape, Homophobia, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Body horror, Mental illness, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Dementia

anna_giub's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Grief, Blood, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Kidnapping

Minor: Death of parent, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse