Reviews with content warning for Rape - Magpie

I really enjoyed this psychological story - and I didn’t ever really know where it was going. To begin with, we hear Marissa’s story. She meets a guy who really seems to fill her need of being cared for and becomes pregnant. She tells us there is a renter Kate, who shows up unexpectedly at her yoga class and then she senses this woman knows Jake better than she expected. There is a crucial scene and then we get the perspective from Kate.

This article is great about this book (but is a bit of a spoiler as to what is really happening) https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/elizabeth-day-on-jealousy-power-motherhood-in-her-new-book-magpie

There are major triggers for this book: date rape, emotional/psychological disorders

Quotes -

Ch 3
Light filtered through the sliding doors, and on the lawn outside were two magpies, strutting around each other, pecking the grass with jittery movements as if they knew they were being watched. She remembered the first time she came to see the house and the bird that had flown indoors. One for sorrow, Marisa thought, two for joy. It was a sign, she told herself

Ch 4
… so blissfully content to be with a man who understood the safety she wanted before she understood it herself.

Ch 5
The study in which Marisa paints becomes , in these fevered imaginings, a sort of storage cupboard that she has to fold herself into, taking the least amount of space and creating the smallest amount of bother so jake will never have a reason to break up with her.

Ch 6
Something unwanted had forced itself into her, like shrapnel, and her entire self had to grow around it over the years that followed , warping the muscle and skin out of shape until the scar became a misshapen part of her, something she simply had to work around.

Ch 8
It’s because she has no boundaries. She is constantly trying to insert herself into situations that have nothing to do with her…

Ch 10
She wants her suspicions proved right, while at the same time knowing that this will undo her. It will smash apart everything that she has ever wanted.

Ch 11
She was good at telling herself stories
Stories worked out better than real life

Forcefield of loneliness

Lesson life has been trying to teach her. She will never be a mom.

She will count to ten over and over again

Ch 17
She has always thought she would do the right thing

Ch 26
Spots a magpie and salutes it

Mistress of her own reinvention

She feels at once very old and very young

Content Warnings

mxajlikesbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

maisiepamela's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I kind of have mixed feelings on this book. I loved the main plot twist of the book but I knew why it had happened straight away so when the next twist came I wasn’t surprised. The blurb led us into a false sense of the story and I really liked that. I am so glad that Kate and Jake got a happy ending and Marisa got better and accomplished her dreams. However, I found characters infuriating at a lot of times which was annoying. There would be a twist in the book and then a long flashback to drag out the tension, which I hated. The flashbacks did provide context but I felt they were long winded and not interesting. The book did drag at some points and was predictable but it had a great twist, which was written very well.

Content Warnings

mskender's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.75

Content Warnings

slowloris's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.0

This book is awful.
Somehow in the 2020s we are still being given media that demonises metally ill, sexual assault survivors. I can't stress strongly enough that sexual assault does not make you crazy and/or should not be used as an excuse for harmful actions. Mentally ill people have been shown time and time again in media that they are dangerous and unpredictable- this is such a damaging and incorrect portrayal of mental illness.
This critique hasn't even consider (in detail) the poorly developed narrative voice, the lack of tension and "thriller" aspects, and awful pacing.
I am so throughly disappointed with this book. I was actually brought to tears by how much this book frustrated me.

Content Warnings

amyflorence's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

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