Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

13 reviews

jaysaysnope's review against another edition

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

2.5

A lot of this books seems opaque for opacity’s sake. It was extremely puzzling, more of an out-and-out mystery than I was expecting, and I actually ended the book with more questions about how this world works. It was well-written and the suspense was compelling, but the author’s ending left me wanting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Suicide attempt, Gore, Blood, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Murder, Gun violence, Child death, and Death

Minor: Rape

avertacnik's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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

5.0

This book was wonderful! So many twists and turns, and I was kept me guessing until the very end. I don’t give books 5 stars lightly, but this one deserves it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Violence

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Sexual assault

stella323's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Forced institutionalization, and Child death

lo_fi's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Body shaming

smkelly1997's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.25

This book is slow in the beginning but it works. It all adds up.  The last 25% of the book I didn’t want to put down. The twists and turns and a major plot twist at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Suicide, Child death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Torture

genny's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.75

I was apprehensive about this book because I felt lukewarm about The Devil and the Dark Water, but I enjoyed this so much more! Tense and gripping, this could make for a really fun live-action adaptation. I also think it would've been fun to annotate a physical copy (I had the ebook from my library) and go ham with plotting time stamps, locations, etc. 😆 

It's a testament to Turton's writing that the protagonist's voice always felt distinct despite him waking up in different bodies. For all of Aiden's confusion, he was still way smarter than me because I was scrambling to keep up with his plans, haha. He was always one step ahead of me in figuring it all out, but it was entertaining enough that I didn't mind just going along for the ride. The glimpses we got of the "outside world" were enough to establish some sort of dystopian society, and this (along with some important reveals) allowed for commentary on the justice system that I thought was well-done. Surprisingly, I got quite emotional towards the end! I'd give this 5 stars except all of the language regarding Ravencourt's body bothered me (check content warnings); I understand needing to emphasize the difficulties of each host but the author went over-the-top there IMO.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Body shaming, Child death, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Grief, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcohol

Aiden inhabits the body of an obese man and there's a LOT of comments about how difficult it was to navigate his surroundings, being unable to stop gorging on food, feeling useless because of his body, etc. He also inhabits the body of a rapist. He doesn't sexually attack anyone but feels the urge to do so.

helenferg's review

adventurous challenging mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Confinement, Child death, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Torture, Violence, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

cassielaj's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

This book is a WILD ride

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Violence, Torture, Infidelity, Grief, Death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Drug use, Medical content, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, and Alcohol

bibliocinephile's review

mysterious tense slow-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

3.75

from the seven deaths of evelyn hardcastle to the seven husbands of evelyn hugo we move

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Gun violence

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

kjm_x's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Blood, Child death, Classism, Confinement, and Violence