Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Spalona

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Spalona by Laura Bates

9 reviews

xvicesx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book poses some very interesting questions in a way that isn't preachy, which I supremely appreciate. I deeply dislike the books that are so enamored with the "message" they're trying to convey that they forget to actually tell a story.

I wasn't desperately fond of the vaguely supernatural aspect and the flashbacks (I was traumatised by The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue), but I do get the point it was trying to get at. It just felt that the author could have achieved the same effect with the research for the essay rather than the flashbacks.

But again, I found it to be a pretty good vehicle for an good bit of soul searching, and a nice story of true friendship.

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savreads28's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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skudiklier's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book delivered on its premise, and definitely kept me engaged! I was furious throughout most of it at the unfairness of everything, and I really wanted to know what had happened in the past that was kept secret through the first half of the book. Overall though a lot of this felt a little too YA for me. I liked it but I'm not sure I'd actively recommend it to anyone. It was pretty hard to read at some points but strikes a good balance of trying to be realistic and not sugarcoating things, while also leaving some hope and a (vague spoilers)

sort of happy ending.

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emmajh91's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

5.0

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ciararenaud's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative 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? N/A

4.25

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navayiota's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

This might be one of the most impactful books I have ever read?

I can't explain the effect this story had on me. Although it was incredibly triggering (so much so that I had a massive panic attack in the middle of reading it) it was an important read for me. As a victim of bullying, though not to the extent that Anna had to deal with, it felt strangely liberating to hear from a man that people seeing me as a symbol instead of a human being reflects badly on them, not on me. To hear a guy younger than me say that he doesn't see Anna -and by extention, me- as her past, but instead he sees her as she is today. It's ironic, since they are written by a woman, but they resonated nonetheless. I already knew these things- but them being spelled out to me helped massively.
I really enjoyed the story, as well. As painful as it was to read due to my trauma, I just couldn't keep away for long.. I needed to know what would happen next. I needed to hear that Anna and Maggie would be okay. And although we didn't exactly get there at the end, I still feel such a weight lifted from my shoulders. I wish the ending was a little less cliche, especially since I have -in real life- attempted the "we're all human!" speech and got laughed at and boo'ed off immediately. In my experience, people are much less hesitant to hear you out or stand with you even if they have been hurt too, because the only worse thing in the world in that moment than being bullied, is being bullied harder, standing next to the school punching bag. I definitely wasn't as eloquent as Anna though, so that is also a factor to consider. Still, I couldn't help but cringe, even as I was trying my hardest to suspend my disbelief. Also the words written on the victim's body pictures are so overdone, but this book was written in 2019, and I think this was a pretty new thing at the time. I did like how all the comments were signed with the bullies' names though. I'm all for keeping abusers accountable, even if I don't personally approve of the means. I do think though that at the end of the day, if that kind of art helps someone in Anna's situation, my opinion does not mean jack shit.
One last thought was that I disagree with the review on the cover, the one by Holly Bourne. I think singling it out as A Book For Girls really doesn't do it justice. I think guys should read this book, too. Not frat boys who are set in their ways because they're bound not to take it seriously, but the loner "I don't have an opinion" boys. The ones who won't laugh at the joke about a girl being called a slut, but won't stand up for her either. I know it was written that way so it can be punchy and fit on the cover, but it really rubbed me the wrong way. I do think all girls who can stomach it should read it as well, though.

I wish Laura Bates all the recognition she deserves, cause damn, what a banger. Be very careful with the triggers, though.

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stories's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Very very clever. Deeply feminist, as modern day bullying and revenge porn amongst highschoolers is deftly interwoven with witch burnings in 1600s Scotland. No magic wands, but plenty of rope to cling to. Special shout out to

Alisha's comments about her love of Cat, and Glenn's consistent kindness.

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ejb44's review against another edition

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dark hopeful medium-paced

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

2.0

The Burning by Laura Bates centres itself on Anna Clark, who has had to uproot herself to Scotland after a scandal that broke out in her old school. Attempting to find a new life in St. Monans, Anna’s school history project on a local figure shapes her actions and beliefs when this scandal comes to haunt her.

This book deals with very modern themes of slut-shaming, feminism, the double standards in society and the lack of effective strategies in place to deal with cyber bullying and problems facing teenagers nowadays. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone between the ages of 10 to 16 as I think it deals with a lot of topics (though briefly) that teenagers may encounter through friends or their own lives.

I’m not too sure why I read this book, as its Young Adult which isn’t a genre I read very often, but it is a nice, easy read with a sort of intriguing pull throughout that did keep me going. This book is very YA so if that’s not really your thing this might not be ideal!

My main issue with this book is I feel it deals with a lot of topics in the space of 300 pages, resulting in none of the topics ever really being fully discussed. From slut-shaming to abortion to sleeping with others or deciding not to, from LGBTQIA+ characters and teenage romance, none of the topics, other than perhaps the overall topic of slut-shaming when it comes to cyber bullying, are all that in-depth. While this is definitely a step in the right direction, it may be overwhelming for a younger audience who now only have surface level thoughts about these topics.

To add to this, especially when it came to the LGBTQIA+ characters, I don’t even think the topic was dealt with particularly well, brushing off the experiences as “I’ve never seen it like that before” and then proceeding to carry on with the main storyline. This felt somewhat like performative activism on the part of the author - as this character’s sexuality was not even discussed or dealt with in a way that informs the reader of the importance of those conversations.

Additionally, the slightly odd supernatural element of the book from the 50% mark onwards was quite jarring to say the least, and while I loved the writing surrounding these supernatural experiences, the main character just seemed to let them go past her and then she carried on her life, which felt a little odd and unexplained?

Lastly, something I find very common in YA, is presenting teenagers in ways that doesn’t feel very authentic. The final speech at the end of the novel and the heroic stance of solidarity with Anna was so out of nowhere and definitely something that would never happen in real life. Between this dialogue and the late-introduced supernatural element, it was really hard to actually get into the grit of the book.

Overall, if you love YA and modern feminist fiction then this is 100% up your alley. If you liked Looking for Alaska or Paper Towns by John Green or even perhaps Colleen Heever books this may be one to add to your TBR. For me, it didn’t hit the spot I wanted it to because of its overambitious nature and lack of authentic teenager representation.

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beckycarter97's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad fast-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? Yes

4.5

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