Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

18 reviews

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

“That was what the books did—they turned off your thinking for you, put their thoughts in your head so you wouldn't have your own.”

➽ I'm on a mission to read all of Simone St. James' books, as they never miss! The Broken Girls is another one of her stories, that is told in dual timelines. In 2014 we follow Fiona, a journalist who couldn't let go of her sister's death even though they convicted the murderer. Since Idlewild Hall, a former boarding school, is being restored, she decides to dive deeper into its history. Back in 1950, Idlewild Hall was a place for troublemaker girls that no one else wanted and we follow a group of girls who are there for various reasons. I really liked how both timelines intersected, as Fiona tries to learn more about what happened back then and how it could be connected to her sister's murder!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Sexism, and Death

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, War, Hate crime, Genocide, Rape, and Torture

beccam22's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Read this if you like:
🕰 Actually good dual timelines 
👯‍♀️ Close friend groups
🔪 who done it 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Racism, Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Death, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Eating disorder, and Classism

markedwithanm's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Child death

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.

silene's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

The relationships between the characters are stunning. The girls’ friendship is beautiful and makes the story all the more heartbreaking and meaningful. The ghosts work perfectly with the storyline and don’t overshadow everything else. Mary Hand is not the scariest part of the story. The ending gave such perfect closure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Police brutality, and Sexual assault

saltycoffee's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Police brutality

Moderate: Child death, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Violence, and War

kait_sixcrowsbooks's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This was my second book from Simone St. James — my first being The Sun Down Motel — and it blew me away. It threaded together so many different things — the toxic “good ol’ boy” culture within police forces, forced institutionalization, how so very little women and girls are believed are taken seriously — and it did so in such a way that made for a tense, thrilling, ultimately sad read. While the end seemed a bit rushed to me, I believe that the meandering plot before the climax more than made up for it for it.

I definitely recommend this book if you’d be into something that, while spooky sometimes, is mostly a critique on how little thought is given to women and girls and their experiences, both currently and historically.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Addiction, Police brutality, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Murder

theidlereader's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, and Violence

Minor: Sexual assault