Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

7 reviews

bcashatt's review

tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book hits the ground RUNNING and it doesn’t stop until the last page. It is intense. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Cursing, Stalking, Body horror, Confinement, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Classism, Addiction, and Gaslighting

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Dementia, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, and Fatphobia

daydaybookbay's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.25

I rated this book a 6.5 out of 10. The descriptions of torture get to be a bit much at times. I guessed the big twists, but I enjoyed the storyline and the small reveals. The torture content makes me question if I would read it again.

I do not recommend this book if you are triggered at all by: abuse. child abduction, drug abuse, gore, gun violence, murder, parent death, pedophilia, rape, sexual assult, suicide, torture. 

Please be aware that all of these topics and more are focused on at one point or another in this novel.

The characters are well developed and rounded. As a reader, you become invested in both the main characters as well as other characters (the father Sam, and Julia). I felt the pacing was steady and gave the perfect amount of time for buildup and resolution. Slaughter's storytelling is amazing.

Back to this trigger warnings bit. At some point, is this graphic torture for shock value? Kidnapping, torture, rape, and murder of teenagers... I almost stopped reading it. I can see it happening as I'm reading, so to have someone described as being raped by a machete... or the urine waterboarding. nope. Not my thing. Just the ongoing shock-value events in the second half are what knocked the rating down a bit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Torture, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Alcohol, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity

Minor: Trafficking, Stalking, Classism, Car accident, Cursing, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, and Infidelity

c_dmckinney's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexual assault, War, Kidnapping, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, Trafficking, Bullying, Rape, Sexism, Vomit, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Confinement, Grief, Gun violence, Body shaming, Car accident, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Torture

Serial killer

amsswim's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this book. Devastating look into a family torn apart by a missing sister. While I was able to predict some of the twists, the details and other parts kept me very interested and caught me off guard. My final listening session (today), I started at 60% and listened to the rest. Really picked up in the end, despite the beginning not really even dragging. The actions of the main characters felt believable and detailed. Overall a good read.

This was incredibly violent and graphic, so I'd recommend reading warnings before starting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Vomit, Child death, Death, Body horror, Drug use, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Grief, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Misogyny, Car accident, Sexism, Classism, Dementia, and Medical content

Minor: Cannibalism

erica_reads_things's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

Overall not a bad read! People say that it is so incredibly gorey and disturbing - which it is - but I was expecting a lot moreso than it was. I could be a bit desensitized because I enjoy horror genre books, though. Still, an interesting plot that kept me guessing and I really loved the 3 different perspectives that Karin included in the narrative. It really tied the family together and made me feel for them. Character development was good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Rape, Sexual assault, Death, Physical abuse, Murder, Violence, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Torture, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, Car accident, Drug use, Infidelity, Stalking, Suicide, Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Classism, Fatphobia, and Dementia

cabeswaren's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual violence, Confinement, Death of parent, Gun violence, Gore, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Suicide, Blood, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcoholism, Addiction, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Classism

mblanke's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Incest, Death, Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Alcoholism, Classism, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship