Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

29 reviews

amberreadsgood's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

This book seemed like it would be up my alley, as I perceived it as a gothic fantasy mystery/romance with some spooky magic vibes. It was certainly that... But only minimally, I found.

This had beautiful prose and lots of potential, but I think it tried to be too many things at the same time. Effy and Preston had little to no romantic tension, which made it difficult to buy the relationship as genuine, and that's without the weird fantasy racism Effy has towards Preston in the beginning. Her overcoming her misguided preconceptions seemed like a shallow way to develop her character, and personally if I were Preston, I would find it difficult to be attracted to someone who hurled racist remarks at me because they didn't agree with my academic views that I'm actively trying to prove as opposed to believing without merit.

The magic and fantasy elements were (in my opinion) so minimal that it felt like they should have just been cut to flesh out other parts of the story instead. I think it would have been more interesting to root the story a bit more in reality and lean into Effy's delusion/mental instability. For me, there just wasn't enough of the fantasy element going on to justify the presence of it at all.

I wish there had been more of a conclusion with her abusive mother and sexual abuser mentor. One felt too neatly tied up, the other not mentioned at all after the fact. It's another aspect that made me feel like too much was trying to happen here, and so it wasn't handled the best.

I still enjoyed this enough to finish it, and like I said, it had lovely writing from an aesthetic perspective, I just wish it had more substance for me to sink my teeth into. I'm aware it's a YA book, so maybe that's on me 🤷🏽‍♀️

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Content Warnings

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

deetabz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, and Sexual content

lizzye33's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Blood, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Classism, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Minor: Torture, Sexual assault, Gore, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Cursing, Child death, Car accident, Body shaming, Animal death, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, War, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Rape, and Domestic abuse

krisglomb's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Things about this book that hit and hit HARD: atmosphere, a sense of doom, romantic descriptions of nature and people so heavy they feel positively gothic. This is the type of book I love however, there were some parts I felt could’ve been better. 

First, the overall mystery. I liked the interplay of a haunted house/person, the ugly realities of Effy’s (and others’) day to day, and the main mystery of Angharad’s authorship. I feel like the 3 didn’t come together to make each story line stronger, however. I think it became obvious to the reader the solution to the main mystery halfway through. And while sometimes its ok for a reader to have information our MCs don’t, in this case it didn’t make much sense. And then, even though we had known the answer to the question for about half the book, we get to the end and instead of a clarity of pieces being put together in an event or revelation, its all revealed in an info dump. It wasn’t very satisfying. There was also a distinct tie between Effy’s “haunting” and her daily atrocities, but by the end they feel so far separated. Their combined resolution make her a stronger person able to step into her life more fully, but it felt like the author couldn’t quite decide if she wanted to keep her worlds separate/the consequences separate/etc. 

I love this book for the potential for discussion and while sometimes the prose hit you over the head (yes, not only the sensation of drowning, but the word drowning is used HEAVILY in the book), it didn’t end up taking away from the atmospheric quality overall. 

I would also say this is more light academia than dark academia. I know the definition is squishy and more of an aesthetic, but I was expecting some themes and tropes and mechanisms in this book that I didn’t get. 

QUOTES

The solitude that had once comforted her had become an enormous empty space where so many bad things could happen.

She was tired, tired of trying so hard for something she didn’t even want.

It was an eternal feeling, this sense of being unwelcome.

There was an intimacy to all the violence, she supposed. The better you knew someone, the more terribly you could hurt them.

She wasn’t a Southerner, but she knew what it was like to drown.

“No one owns the right to tell a story.”

As if stories were not spoils of war.

“You don’t have to love something in order to devote yourself to it.”

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” “It’s terrifying.” “Most beautiful things are.”

“They didn’t think to fear the Drowning until the water was lapping at their door […] It’s the fear we have to learn. The fear keeps the sea from taking us.”

She was not afraid of the ghost. But she was horribly, wretchedly afraid of whatever had killed the woman it had once been.

“You’d be surprised of how much cognitive dissonance people are capable of.”

Anything can be taken from you, at any moment. Even the past isn’t guaranteed. You can lose that, too, like water eating away at stone.

Even though she was afraid of living, she didn’t want to die.

“Survival is bravery, too.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Bullying

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Sexism

Minor: Classism and Confinement

dianaschmidty's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

Warning: this review doesn’t feature any spoilers, but it’s also really hard to talk about this book without spoilers, so I didn’t go into much detail.

This poor girl. As someone who deeply related to multiple of Effy’s experiences, Ava Reid perfectly encapsulated both how to be a survivor and how it feels to survive. As a female history major, I think that Ava Reid also perfectly encapsulated how it feels to academically survive in a world where it’s assumed that “scholarly” articles are more valid coming from a man. Watching Effy survive and learn to thrive by the end of the book was really special.
This was one of the most complex YA books I’ve ever read and I really enjoyed that. I hope that more English teachers add this to their reading lists. The world building was very complex and I would love to read more books set in this world! I also can’t wait to read more from Ava Reid!

Also, I absolutely adored Preston. The world needs more Prestons.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperTeen, and Ava Reid for providing me access to this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Rape, Death of parent, and Grief

Minor: Sexual content

gondorgirl's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

mythicsage's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Bullying, Blood, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Classism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Xenophobia

Minor: Grief, Dementia, Drug use, War, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Animal death

kris386's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexism, Child abuse, Confinement, and Death

Moderate: Classism, Gun violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Violence, and Sexual content

meganpbell's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

What’s more dangerous—a sinking mansion full of secrets, a vicious and enthralling Fairy King, or the forces that have historically silenced and subjugated young women in academia? Fans of Mexican Gothic and The Hazel Wood, this Welsh folklore-infused dark academia fantasy will sweep you under and leave you drowning in all its lush and eerie, mysterious and romantic, utterly immersive, gothic splendor.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Grief, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness