Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

29 reviews

jamieruwen's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? Yes

4.0

A true freight trains of misfortune hits our protagonist and boy is this novel a powerhouse full of trauma, love, and resilience. I loved Kiara so much; her strong personality and convictions, as well as the care and love she has for Marcus, Trevor and Alé are so admirable and I deeply empathised with her. I had such a clear picture of what the environment and the characters looked like without there being obtrusive descriptions; this novel is simply very well constructed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child death, Death of parent, Excrement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, and Vomit

kaimetcalfe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Police brutality, Rape, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Child death, Drug abuse, Trafficking, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Suicide, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Violence, Drug use, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Blood, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Alcoholism

Minor: Mental illness, Gore, Terminal illness, Grief, Vomit, and Confinement

theblushbookworm's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

Wow, it’s a mind-boggling experience to read a book with such beautiful prose about a subject so dark. In order to stay off the streets, 17-year-old Kiara is now working on the streets in sex work by first accident, always necessity, and later coercion. Kiara is supporting herself, her older brother, and her neglected 9-year-old neighbor. They all find themselves parentless as a trauma took away Kiara’s mother,  death her father, and drugs her neighbor’s mother. The rich tapestry of characters in this book just trying to make it and the often judged “choices” they make to do so is treated with so much care and nuance. This book is beautiful, heartbreaking, and an epic reminder of the humanity of all sex workers and in the inhumanity of some cops. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Murder, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Police brutality, Pedophilia, and Death of parent

erikaareadss's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

THAT WAS  A HUGE PUNCH TO THE STOMACH. OH MY GOD. I WANT TO CRY. I WANTED THE BEST FOR KIARA AND OMG TREVOR. TREVOR. ALÉ. ALÉ AND KIARA I CALLED IT RIGHT FROM THE START. I NEED TO REREAD THIS OMG. TEARING UP. WTF. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Self harm, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Racism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

issyd23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Harrowing! Child turns to sex work to pay bills thanks to deadbeat family. Horrifyingly inspired by true events. NB ACAB! 3🚔

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Sexism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Racism, Abandonment, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Child death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Terminal illness

tarnya_smith's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book has many trigger warnings so please check those first. 

I really enjoyed this book. The narrator on audio did a great job. Tackles the brutality of cops with the black community, especially black women. This was dark, this was raw, gave me insight into America, PoC's lived experiences, the law and cops, the life of a sex worker, many things I've never read before. It was very well told, honest but with emotion. 

Despite the mess she got caught up in, I was just routing for Kiara the entire time hoping it got better for her. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racism, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Self harm, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Police brutality, Trafficking, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Rape

kp_writ's review against another edition

3.0

Extremely mixed feelings about this read. Some of the most poetic and mesmerizing prose I've seen in a novel, with very real and poignant slice of life writing for the first quarter of the book. But the plot and pacing honestly made this read a bit miserable. 

Very bleak and caused me to dissociate, so I admittedly skimmed through half the novel and therefore missed out on that poetic prose that was the strongest asset. The plot wallowed so much in its depressing and traumatic turns (of which there were many...) that it got in the way of any character development and relationship building. While the conflict between characters was very real and nuanced, the relationships themselves felt static and stubborn, usually forgotten when the two characters weren't interacting on the page. 

In the end, each character felt less like a person and more like an object to project plot points and thematic messaging, which of course under baked any message that was conveyed. I cannot understate how much trauma these characters endured, and how unnecessary some of the descriptions and events seemed to me. While I don't doubt this amount of trauma is reality for some Black Americans, the overuse of it, in combination with some of the other weaknesses of this book, took away from the storytelling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Stalking, and Rape

Moderate: Racism, Addiction, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Bullying, Death, Misogyny, and Mental illness

bambooboy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Transphobia, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Classism, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Vomit, Colonisation, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Violence

moiracampbell23's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Child death, Grief, Cancer, Child abuse, Police brutality, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Abandonment, Racism, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Cursing, Blood, Bullying, and Drug abuse

natalieholdahl's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Police brutality, and Racism

Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, and Addiction