Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

De verdwenen meisjes van Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman

5 reviews

slucchesi06's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Vomit

_theliteraturevillian_'s review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Mind 👏🏾 Blown 👏🏾

Sage believed for six years her sister died of pneumonia only to find out at sixteen, her twin sister is being held at Willowbrook State School, “home” of the mentally declined. Sage takes a trip to Willowbrook to visit her sister and from there her life will never be the same. 

I was rooting for Sage from beginning to end. Every experience she went through I felt with her to the point I was tearing on the train. To know that this story was inspired by true events made me even more emotional. To know that actual people, actual children had suffered, died at Willowbrook makes my stomach churn with disgust. Being a psych grad, I could go on and on about state institutions but we’ll leave that for another day. 

2011 I received a letter from CSI (College of Staten Island) congratulating me on being accepted to their school. I turned down the offer due to the commute only for CSI to pop back into my life in the most unexpected way. What use to be Willowbrook State School is now the home of CSI. Definitely glad I turned them down 😩 ANYWAYS…

Character development ✅ 
Consistent tension✅
Engaging from start to finish✅
With a touch of history✅ 

Thank you @EllenMarieWiseman for teaching those of us who had no idea about Willowbrook. 

Is this a MUST READ or PASS? 

ITS A MUST READ

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Vomit, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Ableism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

xenalia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Excrement, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Confinement

Moderate: Infertility, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Self harm, Abandonment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Death

kaityreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Confinement, Excrement, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

morethanmylupus's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

The real horror of this book is not the actual mystery in the book, but rather the fact that these places existed. The treatment of people who lived there was atrocious and inhumane. I used to work in a group home with individuals who were previously in one of these homes. The stories their parents told me, and the scars they had, are something I'll never forget.

If you are looking solely for a thriller, this isn't for you. But if you are looking for a book that showcases human atrocity and our capacity for treating other humans as less than ourselves... then you should read this. As a thriller, this was probably only an underwhelming 2 stars for me. But when I stop thinking about it as a thriller and just evaluate it as a book, it's a much better read.

Please check trigger warnings on this one if you're sensitive to certain topics. 

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Rape, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Murder, Violence, Misogyny, Child abuse, Ableism, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail