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Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

45 reviews

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark funny mysterious sad 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: Yes

As a thriller fan and a feminist, I loved this debut! There are some major trigger warnings, so I don’t think this will be for everyone depending on where you’re at in your healing journey. However, I think it was thoughtfully written and definitely helps combat our society’s tendency to victim blame.

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I found Lucy to be a refreshingly unique female main character, and relished that her personality — and how others perceived it and her — is what drove much of the story. I also enjoyed and related to Lucy and Savvy’s friendship — as a late-twenties woman, I’ve had similar friendships myself through my life.
I think my favorite thing, though, was Tintera’s use of casual, embedded misogyny and its microaggressions (from both men and women) throughout the book.
From people singing Matt’s praises for no reason, to everyone believing him and Emmett because they’re men who made statements, to using Lucy’s actions and personality against her in opposite ways they would if she were a man, to Ben’s realizing that it was his word that would exonerate Lucy and using his platform to do so,
Listen for the Lie uses patriarchy and misogyny in realistic ways in addition to their functions as story catalysts. 
I also deeply appreciated the way Tintera presented people’s treatment of those with trauma and/or brain injuries.
She toes the line between sympathy and understanding for other, also suffering characters and disgust with their treatment of Lucy, especially given she was gravely injured and had lost her best friend.

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I struggled to get through it! I kept putting it down and then going back just to finish it. It was a Tik Tok read and I didn’t enjoy it. 

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Lucy was the prime suspect in her best friend Savvy’s murder, but has no memory of that night. When a podcaster begins to investigate, it may finally be time for the truth to come to light…

I really enjoyed this one! It is a fantastic feminine rage book, which is frankly exactly what I needed this week (and always, who are we kidding) and I really appreciated both Lucy and Savvy’s characters and the flashback glimpses of their friendship. There were tons of twists and turns that kept me invested, and I thought the audio production was excellent and the perfect format to consume this book!

I also really appreciated the way this book handled important and difficult topics, and the nuanced exploration of victimhood and who makes a “good” victim. These are topics that are often deeply misunderstood and seeing them reflected and explored in literature is so meaningful!

CW: Death/violence/blood; domestic violence; misogyny

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No

Okay..  I'll be honest.  I guessed whodunnit pretty early on and as I made my way through the story, it was predominantly to ensure that I guessed correctly.

Rating was lowered because I didn't find it all that captivating and there was an odd focus on sweat that really took me out of it.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Dude, this was so good, but I think at least one full star of this rating is due to me reading the audiobook version specifically. The extra audio production and acting really amped up the mixed media aspect, and I truly did not want yo stop listening once I started.

I loved the main character and how misunderstood she constantly was with her dark sense of humor and sarcasm and refusal to engage with small-town Southern bullshit. I really empathized with that for sure, based on some of the same things that happened to me.

I also really loved the side characters and how nuanced they were, Grandma especially. But I also thought Matt and Emmett and Lucy's parents were all such interesting, well-crafted characters. They all felt extremely realistic, like people I could meet in real life.

Finally, I loved the way Lucy and Savvy's friendship was painted throughout the story. I loved their bond and how much they loved and cared about each other. I thought it was a really touching and realistic way to write a close female friendship, and we just don't get enough of that in books.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings