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lizzyspooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
katry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Sexual harassment
hannahnj17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Physical abuse, and Sexism
Content is severe, but handled thoughtfully and respectfully, in a way that I personally did not find triggeringhannahshardbacks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.5
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder
sbox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Incest
redefiningrachel's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Confinement and Death of parent
Minor: Body horror, Eating disorder, Blood, and Medical content
themis_biblos'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? It's complicated
4.25
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.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
burnourhistory's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, and Death of parent
Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Car accident
threedimen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
tddaffin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder