Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

59 reviews

magsbord's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Blood, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Classism

rachelle_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I will read anything by this author. This is not your average mystery/thriller. A decades-old murder lies at the heart of the story, sure, but the author deftly explores adolescence and how we reflect on it in middle age, men abusing girls and young women, racism in the criminal justice system, and how  true crime media plays into all
of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Racism, and Blood

kimveach's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

This book grabbed my attention from the start and held it through to the end.  I loved the story of a podcaster looking into her own school history of a murder of a classmate.  With her students attempting a podcast similar to Serial, she examines not only the original murder but also society as a whole in this Me Too age.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mads_jpg's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

4.25

As someone who isn't a big fiction reader, I probably would never have read this book if it weren't for my work book club, but I'm so glad I did. 

I'm also really skeptical about the true crime entertainment industry, so this book's take on the genre was incredibly refreshing. The author's frequent references to real life cases, and her deliberate choice to not name perpetrators and instead center the experiences of both victims and survivors was fantastic. This book left me angry at the injustice of the justice system and the microagressions that eventually lead to violence against women and people of colour. 

Overall, it was an insightful take on true crime as a form of entertainment, and my only real critique was that the ending left me somewhat wanting.

While I'd loved the use of "you" as this ongoing mystery, I was disappointed we never had any kind of climax/closure with Mr Bloch. And while I know in reality Omar would probably never get justice, I really hoped the book would opt for a happy ending for him. Lastly, the final chapter felt like an odd way to finish the story. Aside from Bodie reflecting on Carlotta's death, it just felt like a moment of pause before the actual ending, so I was genuinely surprised when I realised it was over.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

tharumi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use

sambreenreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual violence

Minor: Drug use, Eating disorder, and Alcohol

deetabz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Stalking, and Death of parent

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Death of parent

Minor: Self harm

wynnebirchmaple's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I couldn’t wait for it to be over which is markedly different than dying to know how it would end. Sad commentary on sad commentary and meta sadness all around. Structure is hard to manage in this work that was laborious. Too many characters, too many distractions and disruptions, a shallow swim in a phenomena no one has been able to explain—national obsession with true crime. Glad I didn’t buy it, own a previous work by the author that I haven’t read and am not sure I want to even though there’s big buzz, award kudos the whole thing. Author tried to over-serve and that’s what happens when you have a prior best seller and it’s easy to create a national conversation and vogue situation that everyone still rollicking in loungewear needs to get on board with. I am in no way better for reading this and I will look at Lake Forest Academy differently for now on. Author went there, lives there and has situated her novel in a similar but different place. Creepy really…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

I don’t know why people like this kind of stuff. I’m really annoyed that this was so long and not because there was no payoff, it was just crap—like a compilation of Kepnes’ adapted work, “You” Emma Cline’s “The Girls” Kukafka “Girl In Snow” and Sebold’s “The Lovely Bones” I didn’t like any of them and this one is now on the virtual shelf of harmful books to women that hijack political themes to make them sell or have obscene page count. Sheesh…

hinkleh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Rape, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Drug use