Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo

4 reviews

dkamada's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“I’ve never been very good at describing Not Like Other Girls. Seriously, my go-to line used to be, “oh, yeah, it’s a fun little mystery with fake dating,” which is technically true but not totally accurate…This is a book about a friend breakup between two teenage girls and how navigating that loss is so distinctly devastating. This is a book about first love. It’s a book about being seventeen and restless in your hometown. It’s a book about privilege and power and entitlement. It’s a book about sexual assault”

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit

prioryofprose's review

challenging emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

erinkellyreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Audio for early access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

This was a 5 star listen with twists and turns every moment and a powerful message of sovereignty and self worth! I am shocked that this is Meredith Adamo's debut novel, and I really hope we get to see more from her. 

"Not Like Other Girls" is a story about Jo-Lynn Kirby. I almost continued there, but, truly, this story, at heart, is about Jo - who she's always thought she was and who she's realizing she is and deserves to be. Jo-Lynn had been friends with Maddie Price, one of her only female friendships, until a falling out that neither will share the details of. Jo stays friends and "friends" with guys, and the other girls at school, along with Maddie, slut shame her and treat her like a pariah. Her parents don't see how Jo's changed, and she has lost her top grades to the point of landing on probation. And then Maddie goes missing. Jo feels like something isn't quite right with the explanation given, and she keeps digging until she discovers something big. 

Throughout the story, Jo's current/past relationships with people, including the grief she feels at the loss of her friendship with Maddie, are juxtaposed with the new relationships she makes as she starts to uncover secrets and schemes at her school. Adamo brilliantly captures what it feels like to lose a best friend - the lack of closure that comes from that, and the secret hope that maybe, just maybe it will get better. I've never felt that so honestly captured in a book before, and it is a testament to Adamo. 

Something I want to make sure to highlight is the pushback against the slut-shaming and the realization of the sexual assault that Jo has been put through - this is really important both narratively and as a message to society. If those are triggers for you, you may want to sit those out, but as a survivor myself, I felt very seen and proud of Jo. Adamo's note at the end of the audiobook in her own voice about her own experiences and why she felt she needed to tell Jo's story had me in tears. 

"Not Like Other Girls" comes out TOMORROW, April 30th! Get your copy wherever books are sold, and then come back and chat with me! I can't wait to be able to talk more about the twists and characters with someone!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

kayceeisbookish's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

This book left me in beautiful agony. It's not the kind of pretty you see in a curated insta post. This book is raw and emotional, leaving me bleeding. It was an absolute heart-wrenching and transformative experience to envision how stories told by others and by ourselves can be twisted and contrived, manipulated into a new narrative that fits a box. Fills the gap. Eases others around us. But it is not our true story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail