Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Girl A by Abigail Dean

8 reviews

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I received a copy of this book as a gift.
"Girl A" follows Lex Gracie, a woman who has spent the majority of her life trying to forget about her family. Lex was one of the siblings that grew up in the infamous House of Horrors, and she was the one who escaped and finally brought the torment to an end. Her father did not make it out of their home, and her mother has been in prison ever since. Her siblings were all adopted by different families and do not see much of each other anymore. But, when Lex learns that her mother has died and left her the rest of her possessions, including the house, Lex feels compelled to finally face what happened all those years ago.
I was so pleasantly surprised with this novel. This is not a thriller in the traditional way, but it definitely is mysterious. We know what ultimately happens to most of the characters, but we do not know how and we do not necessarily know how they are doing in their adult lives as they try to cope with the fallout from their childhood. There is one big "reveal" that I did anticipate, but I was not left feeling let down that I figured it out early on.
Lex is an interesting point of view to read from. Her life was irreversibly altered by the decisions her parents made, and it is difficult to read about the horrors she has faced, but she seems so strong. Some of her siblings have really struggled ever since their escape, and although Lex is clearly affected, she manages to seem the most levelheaded.
Each sibling gets a dedicated chapter, and we get to learn what their life was like in childhood and then what it was like trying to overcome their trauma. Each sibling handled things very differently, but it was still so interesting to see. There was one sibling in particular that made me very angry. They knew much more than they let on back then, and even contributed to the abuse in their own way. They seem so put together now, and I think it was because they did not face the same fear as their siblings. They do not deserve the beautiful life they have created, and I was angry learning of the transgressions against their siblings they committed.
The pacing of this book felt slow, but there was always so much happening, and we were learning so much about the characters that it ended up feeling very appropriately paced.
Overall, I was content with the resolution. I think the siblings are all moving on the best they can, and I think Lex made the best decision she could about the house.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a quiet mystery laced with family drama. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Blood, Toxic relationship, Murder, Mental illness, Bullying, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Suicide, Death of parent, Torture, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Physical abuse

bluedesi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A tough read but still, a complex one. Also a deep look into mental health, trauma and abuse.

Evie, my heart breaks for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Blood, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, and Religious bigotry

sam_is_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Torture, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Medical content, Addiction, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Infertility, and Drug use

lily_peach's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death, Blood, Alcohol, Bullying, Child death, Excrement, and Domestic abuse

bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Confinement, Death, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Child death, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, Torture, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, and Pregnancy

evnfig's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.25

Good, solid book. The writing style was so... cool? Something about the delivery of this writer is so modern and relaxed, but the subject of what the author was writing about was so emotional and touchy. It was an interesting contrast. I didn't find the jumps between times jarring at all, and the serious tone was consistent throughout the entire book. I did, however, find it hard to tell where we were in time a few times, but maybe the author intended that.
I really enjoyed this one. I recommend it if you're in the mood for some darker contemporary fiction but don't want something that'll keep you up at night.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Confinement

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Blood and Body horror

laurenipsum's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

alylentz's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I couldn't put this one down while reading but don't quite know what to make of it after. Definitely dark and difficult material, but I saw the twist coming and would have liked a deeper reckoning with what the trauma and recovery might mean for these characters instead of a thriller-like twist, especially in a book that's clearly so interested in the psychology of these siblings. I also think that this was a little hard to keep straight in terms of timeline, recollections vs. the present in audiobook form, and I would probably read it in print if I had the choice. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Suicide attempt