Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Witch Elm by Tana French

21 reviews

corncake's review against another edition

mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

2.75

Excellent characterization, but the pacing of this book is painfully slow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Medical content, Cancer, Cursing, Grief, Alcohol, and Blood

Minor: Self harm, Vomit, Misogyny, and Homophobia

dusktreader's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The audiobook narrator for this book is fantastic! Such a nuanced performance. 
This book was sometimes hard to read because the main character struggles so much with internalized ableism after his brain injury, only he’s kind of a jerk so that’s not how he’s framing it. It’s totally realistic that someone like him would react with anger and frustration about the way he’s being perceived so it’s not bad writing, just kind of tiring to be around. 
But it is interesting being inside the head of a guy who is kinda oblivious and privileged and a little douchey as he starts to realize it and wonder what he’s really capable of. 
I liked this enough that I want to read more Tana French. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Murder, Homophobia, Bullying, and Sexual assault

jenniferpalmblad's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

ellipalmer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

It's hard to say much about what I liked about The Witch Elm without venturing into topics that feel like spoilers. It took about 150 pages to get to the meat of the story, which felt like a long time. If it were another author who I didn't know I might have felt annoyed, but in my experience Tana French knows what she's doing. While I still feel like the first 1/3 dragged a bit, pushing through definitely paid off. The writing is top knotch, French a master of plot and psychologically complex character development. I watched an interview with her where she said that she's less interested in "who did it" than "who the detective is" and the impact of the mystery/story on the person trying to work their way through it and find the truth. I think that's what makes her stories so good. You want to know who did it, but the payoff is deeper and longer lasting because solving the mystery doesn't put the world back in order. The detective is forever changed and solving the case doesn't bring the satisfaction and closure they hoped it would. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

vcthom03's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Murder, Bullying, and Sexual harassment

rileyreadsagain's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Dementia, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, and Homophobia

Minor: Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Drug use

yo_tdo's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

mariah_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Solid 3 from Tana, not her best but not her worst. I guessed the murderer, but not the ending twist. Found the main character’s constancy derision for his cousin’s life experience infuriating, but that was the point. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying and Sexual harassment

madzsmiled's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Pregnancy and Self harm

babayagaofficial's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Bullying

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Medical trauma

Minor: Child death and Transphobia