Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

The Places I've Cried in Public by Holly Bourne

6 reviews

leiaslizzy's review

sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I don't even have words. This book tore my soul into pieces. It was so uncomfortable to read and I got so angry sometimes but it is so, so important that young people, especially girls, read this so that they can understand. It's a commentary on so many things, and it's such a heartbreaking story but so many aspects of it are also true in a way. Even though this is a fictional story, things that happen in this book do happen, and it's devastating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Rape

annabelreadsandwrites's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Grief, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Bullying, Gaslighting, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Vomit, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Cursing, Rape, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Medical content, Gore, and Body shaming

laurataylor's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Alcohol, Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

dramagirl2003's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book was excellently written, even though it was talking about such a traumatic subject. 
I probably wouldn't recommend reading this until you're in your late teens. It's one of those books where you also need to be in a good place mentally, and personally, I don't think I could have coped with the dark subject matter in this book until I was at least 17-18yrs old. 
This book really gave me a good glimpse into how trauma bonds are formed in abusive relationships, and if I didn't already, I certainly now have a better idea of the signs to look out for. 
I cried along with Amelie as Reese sucked her even further into his web of lies and abuse. I hated how Reese silently manipulated her into destroying all her other relationships, including her besties from back home. It broke my heart when Amelie told Alfie about Reese.

Even more so when she later told Alfie that Reese had raped her that same night!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Cursing

Minor: Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Vomit, Blood, Body shaming, Infidelity, and Rape

leonormsousa's review

dark emotional inspiring sad 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

TRIGGER WARNINGS 

emotional abuse, gaslighting, sexism, sexual assault, rape, toxic relationship, mental illness, panic attacks/disorders, body shaming, infidelity

 

REPRESENTATION 

none

REVIEW 

Have you ever heard about stories of domestic violence or violence in relationships and thought “how did it get to this point? how did the victim not put a stop to the abuse?”? If you did, then I would definitely recommend The Places I’ve Cried in Public. It can give you the answer you’re looking for, as it is not a cute YA romance as it may seem, but a strong and hard story of abuse. 

Honestly, this book has everything you might want in a (YA) book. The characters are very well built and feel real. The plot keeps you engaged and draws you in so well, that it feels like you’re inside Amelie’s skin so much that you almost fall a bit in love with Reese. And sometimes you’re yelling “please don’t do that” but at the same time you can understand everything she does. The book is also very well written, with the intercalation of present Amelie and past Amelie being *chef’s kiss * . 

But maybe what I like the most about this book is that it’s not just a good book. It’s a book that has an important message and that’s targeted at an audience that NEEDS to read this message. It’s a book that matters! And books that matter always grab my little heart. 

There’s not much more to say, except “go read this book”! Even if you don’t like YA, I think you might enjoy this as it is so far from your typical YA book. I myself was already expecting to be disappointed since my expectations for this were quite high but I was pleasantly surprised: I was not expecting such a strong book. 

Lastly, I would like to offer another recommendation to the ones of you who want to read further on this topic. I’ve read “Into the Darkest Corner” by Elizabeth Haynes a few years ago and it’s still to this day, one of the books that I think about from time to time. It’s an adult book even heavier that “The Places I’ve Cried in Public”, as it tells with more detail not only emotional abuse but especially physical abuse, and also the consequences that being in an abusive relationship can have on years to come. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Panic attacks/disorders

bella_b_4's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Rape

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape

Minor: Body shaming