Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

14 reviews

arthomas's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Torture, Chronic illness, Excrement, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, and War

dale_in_va's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

5.0

Felt real and touching.  Kept you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next.  Truly a YA book because it centers on a High Schooler...part of me wishes that there was more insight into the college age people of the era, but I guess I will have to read another book for that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Police brutality, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Violence and Gun violence

Minor: Gun violence, Death, Torture, War, and Violence

mformato's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

An exciting and fast paced story. I had no predictions for anything because it was full of twists and turns. I enjoyed being able to see inside of history, Sepetys really cares about accuracy in her literature. To know that the living conditions of this story were real is heartbreaking. I also like how the story wraps around if you go back to the prologue after reading the end.

Not a full five stars because of personal reasons. I felt like there was a lot of telling rather than showing in the beginning. Also Cristian felt a little too American for the story. Plot points happened a bit too much out of convenience.

But overall I enjoyed the story and would recommend the book to someone who enjoys reading about revolutions, noir, and an undying spirit of hope in a hopeless land.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Stalking, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Death, War, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Murder, Terminal illness, Violence, Gaslighting, and Grief

emerald_reader's review

adventurous emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Violence, Torture, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

Minor: Gaslighting, Confinement, Blood, Death, and Deportation

mpbookreviews's review

emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Medical content, Blood, Death, Torture, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

haley49's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This was a good account of a teenager’s view of Soviet-era Romania. I didn’t know much about the time period and it was surreal learning what they went through. I like how the author clearly aims for authenticity and has a really thoughtful note at the end. It reminded me of why I love historical fiction and of it’s capacity to bring future change. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Police brutality, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

Moderate: War, Gaslighting, Torture, Gun violence, Murder, and Cancer

Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Misogyny

mvilter's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, War, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

an_everyday_penguin's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Medical trauma, War, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Death, Torture, and Murder

unforgivenparrot58's review

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Blood, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, and Violence

Moderate: Genocide, Gore, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Grief

Minor: Excrement, Torture, Sexism, and Pregnancy

abby_reads_books's review

challenging dark hopeful informative mysterious 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: Bullying, Death, Police brutality, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Antisemitism, War, and Terminal illness