Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Killingly by Katharine Beutner

4 reviews

himpersonal's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad slow-paced

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

1.0

Such a huge disappointment. Being a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, I was really looking forward to this book. The only thing I got out of it was nostalgia for my days on campus. Poorly written, boring, boring, and boring. The author used the premise of a real disappearance as a platform for superficial feminist  topics. Would’ve been better as a real crime story than an historical recreation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism

katy_bee's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.5

This felt rather sprawling, which left me a bit unsatisfied. I only realised on reading the afterward that it's loosely based on a true story and includes contemporary sources- a newspaper article and short story. Once I read that, it made a bit more sense as to why things didn't come together more nearly and why those sources were dropped in. 
Given how much fictionalising of the original story occurred, I would have preferred the whole thing to have been more tightly focused. It wasn't clear who the main character was or what journey we were supposed to be following. 
The foreshadowing felt a bit heavy handed at times, the reveal of the "mystery" of Bertha's disappearance was somehow both mundane and a bit melodramatic and the wrapping up of characters many years later also felt a bit off to me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Blood, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Self harm, and Stalking

litprof's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

Beautifully written and conceived, carefully braiding careful research through fictional narration. A pleasure to read!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Rape, Sexism, Murder, and Classism

raychelbennet's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-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? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Dementia, Pregnancy, and Alcohol