Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

17 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

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

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

tigerkind's review against another edition

dark hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Rape, Murder, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Death, Confinement, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Child abuse, Alcohol, and Abandonment

Minor: Eating disorder and War

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, and Medical content

Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, Confinement, Grief, Eating disorder, and Alcohol

thespinystacks's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Moderate: Blood, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Rape, Grief, Death, Murder, Sexism, Misogyny, Mental illness, Violence, Vomit, and Sexual violence

Minor: Alcohol

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.5

This story is a fictionalized account of the Ted Bundy case, but instead focuses on the lives of his victims and their loved ones. I didn’t know anything about Ted Bundy before reading it, and I thought it was good that I didn’t have that background so I could pay more attention to the characters themselves and the impact violence has on the people left behind.  

A big strength of this novel were the dual POVs, and I think that fans of true crime will really appreciate this one. As someone who’s just gotten into true crime this year, it does give off a similar vibe to the podcasts I listen to. But it’s important to note that this book is based on real events and reflect on what that might mean for the victims, survivors and those in their lives. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for a gifted digital copy of this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Violence, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

Minor: Sexual content

abicaro17's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.25

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. On one hand, the story of a woman, traumatized by her best friends brutal murder, becoming a Colombia educated laywer and testifying against the man who brutalized her is so profoundly cool. On the other hand, this story lacks character. Pamela is a pretty flat character. She is organized and truth seeking but thats all she is and that never changes. Also this book did not need to be dual pov. Tina could have explained Ruths story and it could have been up to the readers to determine if she was telling the truth. The book spells out everything and anything thats a mystery. Also by writing a Ted Bundy book it just keeps his memory and crimes alive. I think the intention was the show that he wasn't clever just lucky thats everyone else was dumber but, it mostly just comes about like a retelling from fake pov. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Bullying, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Lesbophobia, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Child death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Sexism

chloeve's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Very interesting take on the women involved with Ted Bundy. I'm not sure if it's any of this book has true parts to it though. However, it was slow at times and hard for me to pick up. I really enjoyed the ending, which saved my opinion of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Sexual violence, Murder, Blood, Grief, Medical content, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infertility, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and Kidnapping

deetabz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Death of parent, Confinement, Car accident, Dementia, Gaslighting, and Grief

Minor: Infidelity, Incest, and Alcohol