Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Bad Girls

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Bad Girls by Camila Sosa Villada

47 reviews

eestellar's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This book was not a joyful read - it was dark and sad. I like magical realism but I felt like it hindered this story. The timeline was confusing at times but I'm not sure if that was because of translation or just a story. It was a sad but interesting story, I felt for the women in this story and the terrors they faced. There were parts that were genuinely beautiful and I wished I could read Spanish so I could've read them authentically

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reflectiverambling_nalana's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This story is one of perseverance in continual strife, of finding moments of levity, and finding yourself. While some may find this to be too blunt, too intense, too dreary, the sad truth is that there are some journeys that seem like they are constantly uphill. This narrative is a constant weight, a constant shadow. And yet it is slightly inspiring in that in spite of all of the trauma faced by all of these characters, of all the compartmentalization they're forced to put on their brains just to keep moving-- they find a place to be, mostly, to keep taking that step. It is by no means hopeful. It leaves you feeling heavy and hurt. But it makes you want to yearn for everyone remaining to find a light.

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theboricuabookworm's review

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challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

A deeply personal account of the life and experiences of a group of travesties (trans women) living in Argentina. The book primarily follows Camila as she navigates her life as a sex worker. CSV does not shy away from the brutalities she faces every day purely because she exists and refuses to flinch away from herself and her identity. In a raw and real story with a dash of magical realism you are drawn to Camila and the other travestis as they grow up and into themselves in a world determined to see them gone.

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bookishmillennial's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

“Something began in the dark. I’m talking about my dark now, I’m talking about myself. I’m talking about the feeling of being force-fed fistfuls of dirt by God himself.”

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Sena Bryer, who did a fantastic job. I highly recommend that format!

I recently made a video on why I don't need on-page or extremely detailed rape scenes, and while there are post-rape and mentions of rape in this book, they are not gratuitous or exploitative. I genuinely felt like CSV took great care in both forcing the audience to bear witness to the violence that the travestis endured every day by everyone, whether it was by romantic partners, Johns, the police, or simply society at large, AND ensuring to not cause more harm by being unnecessarily graphic.

Through vignettes, we follow Camila from childhood to young adulthood, as she comes into herself and inadvertently finds a new family of sex workers in Sarmiento Park, in the heart of Córdoba, Argentina. She finds care with Auntie Encarna, who is 178 years old, and their home of travestis finds a baby, whom they call "Sparkle in her eye". These women also encounter headless men who return from a war being shunned by society. The magical realism is quite fun, a bit strange, and honestly provided a much-needed levity to a sometimes-heavier narrative. Camila also is both deeply unserious and funny, even though her story does carry so much pain and sadness.

Camila went through so much in this book, from parental abuse, to police manipulation and bribery, to the grief of losing friends to suicide. However, she continues on, and aims to live a truthful existence, rather than hating herself how society wants her to. Though she still experiences deep loss and heartache, Camila's story is one that thoughtfully humanizes people who society wants to villainize and further marginalize.

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onlyonebookshelf's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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therecoveringbookworm's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

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vcriveros's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Bellísimo y desolador, no puedo a leer más de la autora. La escritura es brillante y los personajes inolvidables. Los elementos de realismo mágico no me fueron ni vinieron personalmente, pero las transiciones entre el foco en la protagonista y las otras chicas lo hace polifónico y continuamente en movimiento de una forma que me encantó.

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