Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

137 reviews

reddeddy'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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

lila_laune's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

I think this story will stay with me for a bit.

For most of the book I was unsure how reliable Effy was as a narrator but I think think that might reflect more on me than it does on the book. It really is beautifully written, I just have one issue: Everyone mentions how smart and brave Effy is and of course, yes, she is, but whyyyy did you not go talk to the secretive and reclusive widow of your favorite author when you had the chance? Like you literally did everything including destruction and theft of property and nearly dying in a drowned basement instead of trying to communicate with people that are there and have not explicitly told you to fuck off yet. I was just waiting for them to get to that for nearly half the book so that was incredibly frustrating. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

emilywemily6's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

The writing of this book is absolutely stunning. So many good lines that made me think, especially knowing that this is YA. However, the plot and characters fell short for me. The FMC was very annoying to me, she was overly shy and submissive in some instances and extremely brash and rude on others. She also had no sense. Overall, not a consistent characterization, and I liked almost none of her. The MMC I liked better, but his perspective was definitely lesser in the story. I couldn’t get behind this world and how certain things like literature were exclusive for men and women were seen as temptresses but almost no other misogyny was talked about to set the frame for this type of world. It felt incomplete. The “mystery” of what was happening was not very deep, I predicted the gist of things very early on but the main characters seemed really oblivious and thick-headed. And when a major plot hole regarding the wife was ignored until it was extremely convenient, all the questions the reader had were answered in a straightforward, interview-style reveal, which wasn’t satisfying. The climax did not have the background lore lead up that would have made it a more powerful story. Overall, the story itself was very mediocre and basic, though with lots of unfulfilled potential, and yet the writing style was really beautiful to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: War

caffeinated_magpie's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

mktraxel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

2.5

CAWPILE 4.8

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

daydaybookbay's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.75

I rated this book a 5.5 out of 10. There are many elements to this novel I enjoy, but I wish each had been explored more. By dropping the adolescent romance, more effort could be dedicated to expanding the settings and main plotlines.

Ava Reid writes beautiful phrases and sprinkles them throughout the chapters. Her artistic metaphors rest on the boundry of remaining applicable. The wording captures the reader, but any further, the intention would be lost. She uses imagery to convey emotion and the characters' mindsets.

The characters fell a bit flat for me. Each character was one dimensional and served only one purpose throughout the book. Preston exists to be an on-paper protective love interest. Effy is constantly reminding you how misogyny, sexism, and her beauty overshadow her genius. Every other character means nothing to me.

Effy's low-key racist. Her xenophobia is front and center, but we are
overlooking that? Why?! Time and time again, she shows her
academic rivalry" is really just her prejudice against Argantians.

I wanted more from the fairy-tale.

We are to believe the Fairy King is real, so why are there literally ZERO other elements involved? Everything points to Effy actually having mental health issues where she has "episodes." If Angharad was a ghost/spirit or if Effy would have seen an alternate reality through the hagstones, these would be easy places to incorporate fantasy aspects. 

Is Effy a reliable narrator? Honestly, I'm left thinking the fantasy aspect is really part of Effy's imagination. She experienced great trauma from her mother, and her obsession with Myrddin's novel plays a role in her coping. I'm left to feel she really has mental health issues, and maybe the pink pills are good for her.

  I know that's not the conclusion I'm "supposed" to reach, but...

I wish there had been more development in the setting and the characters. The countries, the North and South, the school, the house, the land... I could never picture them. The only thing I was able to imagine was the door to the basement. There is this whole world Reid introduced in this book, but we never get a clear picture of what it's like.

I really wanted to love this book. Part of me feels I would have enjoyed it more as a physical book because I would get bored listening to it. I never got the feeling of being immersed in the story. 

I love the moody vibes Reid is able to create. The feel and the way she conveys emotion is beautiful. I wish the attention to the setting had matched. I want to visualize where the characters are and how the North/South/Bottom Hundred look and compare to each other. I wanted to pull more from the text.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

anntharai's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

Jfc I went in with no expectations and only a vague idea of story as this was a reccomendation from a friend and they were right. I loved it and hated it and it made me super uncomfortable and angry as well as fired up and ready to go. I loved this reading experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Blood, Abandonment, and Alcohol

artemisx's review against another edition

adventurous 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism

dyanimae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Dementia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, War, and Classism