Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

9 reviews

colourado's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Antisemitism, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and War

muse692's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Child death, and Child abuse

Minor: Miscarriage

pibblemama97's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, War, Antisemitism, Blood, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Genocide

alliedelexa's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? No

4.0

my first book by Simone St. James and it didn’t disappoint. admittedly, it took me 3/4 of the book to really get invested. i enjoyed the dual timelines and the ending. i could’ve done without the love story because they generally feel forced but i understand the need to entangle the past with the present in this book. i found all the flashbacks incredibly interesting and i always looked forward to those point of views. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Antisemitism, and Child abuse

Minor: Drug abuse, Addiction, Hate crime, Cursing, Murder, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Grief

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? No

4.0

Rating: 4/5 stars

Told in dual timelines, The Broken Girls is the story of four best friends at a remote boarding school for troubled teens, and a journalist trying to learn buried details of her sister’s murder.

I love a good ghost story, and Simone St. James writes some of the best. The Sun Down Motel remains one of my all time favorites thrillers, and I really enjoyed The Book of Cold Cases earlier this year, so I was super excited to get my hands on The Broken Girls this spooky season. Overall I really enjoyed it—the themes of female friendship and empowerment were really meaningful to me, and I particularly loved the underlying message about the importance of telling stories and not erasing women’s trauma.

I will say that I ultimately wanted a little more from the plot, which sometimes felt a bit disconnected to me, and I wish there had been a bigger twist or two. Still, the creepy boarding school vibes and hauntingly (pun very intended) beautiful writing definitely make this a top notch recommendation for this time of year!

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: ghost stories; stories about uncovering and healing from trauma; dual timeline thrillers

CW: Death/murder/attempted murder (including of a child); grief; sexual assault/rape; traumatic brain injury; mentions of anti-semitism/Nazism/concentration camps; mentions of PTSD/suicide/suicide attempt; miscarriage/stillbirth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Violence, Murder, Death, and Genocide

Moderate: Abandonment, Child death, Confinement, Sexism, Antisemitism, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, and Misogyny

Minor: Drug abuse, Addiction, and Drug use

shannananahey's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Death, Misogyny, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual violence, Bullying, Drug use, Drug abuse, Antisemitism, Blood, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Cancer, Body shaming, and Child death

shelleys_shelf's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? No

4.5

Simone St. James has proved again why she is one of my favorite authors. It's the perfect combination of a ghost story mixed with a cold case mystery. This story gave me "Woman in Black" vibes from the way Mary Hand is described. The big reveal in the last couple of chapters did feel a little underwhelming to me, but it was still pretty good. Can't wait to read the rest of this author's backlist! 

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Content Warnings

Minor: War, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Sexual assault

books_coffee_oxfordcommas's review against another edition

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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Minor: Drug abuse

colleenward_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

wowza.
I absolutely love when a mystery moves at a pace that you can follow, and actually lets you feel like you can be a detective in the story. Expletives were shouted when my suspicions were confirmed; I love love LOVE when that happens!

I had very little knowledge of the plot when starting this book but quickly became attached to the story of four boarding school girls: Sonia, Katie, CeCe, and Roberta. I also really enjoyed the switching of time periods and the connectedness of everyone living in this little town in Vermont. 

The Broken Girls has a little bit of everything - spook, thrill, mystery - and I’d strongly recommend it to anyone who is looking for an extension of spooky szn right about now!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Hate crime, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gun violence, and Cancer