Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

29 reviews

dalek_caan's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I found the plot of this book to be really well executed. I did not expect that it would have quite so many layers as it did, I really enjoyed this author's method of storytelling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Confinement, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Antisemitism, Gun violence, Child abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and Mental illness

Minor: War and Violence

aliteracja's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Murder, Grief, Death, Child death, and War

Minor: Antisemitism and Suicide attempt

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

haleybre's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Suicide attempt, War, Genocide, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Grief, Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence

lauramparis's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Suicide attempt, Violence, Addiction, Rape, Death of parent, and Genocide

b_lownds127's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I really enjoyed parts of this story, the ghost story for one, the 1950 storyline for another. The 2014 storyline felt forced and unrealistic to me, I did not feel the "romance" of the characters to be convincing and the Big Bad felt incredibly over the top. 

<<<<<Spoiler: 

I felt the resolution of the ghost story was too vague, I really enjoyed the resolution of the 1950 murder, and was irritated beyond tolerance by the end of the 2014 mystery. I felt the author was making a great point about the "good ole boy" cops and small town quid pro quo system with victim silencing accompanied by shoddy police work and then she completely went off the rails and gave us a cop willing to literally hide bodies, cover up murders, kill a journalist, and then shoot at his own son. All the believability ebbed away at that point and I feel the MC's conversation with the irritated chief of police at the end of the book made a better point than the rest of the "corrupt cop" storyline. >>>>

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Violence, War, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

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

kimbekaw's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

On the supernatural element of the book:

Very little point to the ghost, "Mary Hand". She only served as a "spook factor". The book could have easily been written without the supernatural element and have been just as impactful. It had nearly no bearing on the story at all, other than to create the spooky atmosphere of a haunted boarding school.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Murder, Violence, and Confinement

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Rape, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Antisemitism, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Classism, and Sexual content

cassielaj's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I liked this. I love a ghost story that also exposes the horrors that exist among the living. The concept of Mary showing everyone their fears and horrors was very creepy and compelling, the back and forth between Fiona and the Idlewild girls kept me on my toes, and both of the mysteries had enough twists that I wasn’t always a step ahead. This book has a lot of emotion in it as well, which always improves a mystery in my opinion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Mental illness, Antisemitism, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Rape, War, and Violence

This book discusses the Holocaust and Nazi prison camps.