Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

The Girls Are All So Nice Here by L.E. Flynn

9 reviews

writeasiread's review against another edition

challenging dark

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

3.0

classically intriguing premise & characters but not the writer to pull it off.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Rape, Pregnancy, Murder, Suicide, and Sexual assault

gia0203's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

it’s rare for me to enjoy a book when I dislike the protagonist, but wow. this one kept me guessing. the twist was unexpected yet made perfect sense. fantastic commentary on the insecurities of young girls. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Rape, Drug use, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Self harm, Fatphobia, and Body shaming

somelibrarychick's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Bullying, and Infidelity

Moderate: Grief, Blood, Suicide, and Drug use

Minor: Rape and Body shaming

bookishgoob's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

Before the ending, i was thinking this book was gonna be a 4-4.5 star read, but the ending fell so flat for me. 

I loved the exploration of toxic female friendships and the feeling that you’re competing with the group or person that you want to be friends with. The uncomfortable thought of “do i hate this person or do i love them? do i want to be friends? is this an enemy?” Mean girls come in so many different shells, and the fact that Amb couldn’t admit that she was mean is one of the biggest types of mean girls there is. The quote earlier in the book where sully tells amb “flora is a mean girl, she’s a bitch. at least i can own it” felt like a subtle stab at Amb, because amb did the same thing. she hid behind her moral high ground. destroying Flora and her relationships because Flora had something she want. She had to make flora the villain in her fantasy. </ I think it’s really a bad choice to have ambrosia go to jail and have Poppy basically take over her life. it didn’t feel like justice to me. It felt like just another generation of mean girls, where poppy is hiding behind her moral high ground of “she did this to my sister so i’ll do this to her” the last chapter made me angry. Killing off Sully and Kevin and having Amb go to jail made me feel like the author didn’t know really how she wanted to end the story. I also feel like killing Kevin was just Poppy’s way to get rid of him. He was an asshole, sure, but he didn’t have anything to do with Flora’s death. it was completely Sully and Amb. killing Kevin was a vendetta because she never liked him. getting rid of these characters was lazy and honestly boring. Also it wasn’t revealed or clear what actually happened to Flora. Did sully kill her?> 

I was invested in this story and the way the story was told. i’ve come to enjoy dual timelines because it adds so much depth to the story. I enjoyed the story, again, up until the last chapter. it’s a quick read so i do recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

iuliaq's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Suicide, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm

Moderate: Drug use, Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Car accident, Abortion, Rape, and Cancer

roughdraftofmylife's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body shaming, Toxic friendship, and Infidelity

thewoodlandbookshelf's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Rape, Toxic friendship, Murder, Blood, Stalking, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Infidelity

Minor: Body shaming

deedireads's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.

TL;DR REVIEW:

The Girls Are All So Nice Here is a brutal, twisted thriller with a wild ending, told from the perspective of the mean girl herself.

For you if: You like thrillers and narrators that people love to hate.

FULL REVIEW:

First, big thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending me an advance copy of this one. I veryyy rarely read thrillers; they just aren’t my thing. But every once in a while it’s nice to mix things up and read something different from the heavier literary fiction and complex fantasy I gravitate to.

The Girls Are All So Nice Here is a mean girls story flipped inside out: The narrator is the bully. That, in itself, is a really interesting choice that makes this book do something that others in the genre don’t. Ambrosia “Amb” Wellington is a pretty terrible person, all of it stemming from an overwhelming hunger to feel accepted and validated. The timeline flips back and forth between her freshman year of college and what happened with her roommate, and the present day at her 10-year college reunion as she desperately tries to hide her secrets (and past self) from her husband.

There’s no doubt that Laurie Elizabeth Flynn can write a story that keeps you reading. The ending of this one wasn’t so much a twist — the devastating details are revealed gradually throughout — as a shock. I just never would have expected her to do that. And the epilogue is the WTF icing on the cake.

This is an uncomfortable, brutal, gripping story about the devastating effects of the toxic gender expectations that lead women to hurt and compete with one another. If you like to read thrillers and are looking for something that sets itself apart with interesting choices (not to mention an author who’s sure to be a new talent to follow), pick this one up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Body shaming, Blood, and Sexual content

literarymarvel's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I don’t like books that put girls against girls. And I hate psychological and emotional manipulation. And that is literally all this book is: two narcissistic, drugged up, drunk college girls who ruin another girl’s life - all because they can. The four stars for this novel are primarily for the writing. It’s gripping, suspenseful, and leaves you reeling with that ending. But it was a total trauma to read. So if you struggle with any of the trigger content warnings, don’t read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Body shaming, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts