Reviews tagging 'Racism'

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

537 reviews

singalana's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Dividing books based on the age of the protagonist has always felt a bit arbitrary to me: this book is young adult, but deals with some rather heavy topics, even more so that a lot of the thrillers directed at adults. 

This is Holly Jackson’s strong debut thriller. Five years ago a schoolgirl was murdered. Everyone knows who did it, and the case is closed. Pippa chooses the case as her final-year project and starts to dig deeper to what really happened. 

The characters in this book are mostly teenagers and the adults in their lives. The characters feel well-defined and authentic with their complex problems. The main character Pippa doesn't feel especially memorable, but on the other hand this gives more room for the story. I liked the family dynamics of the main characters, they were so wholesome. 

The book is told in mixed media format: there are notes, texts and diagrams as Pippa collects evidence in an attempt to solve the case. 

I found the book to be very entertaining, relatively fast-placed and at least I couldn't predict what had really happened that night five years ago. 

If you're looking for utmost realism in your books, be warned. As some reviewers have pointed out, Pippa does get into rather dangerous situations and there seem to be no repercussions for her actions. You'd think the police might have something to say about the way she acquires information.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abortion, Vomit, Body shaming, Racism, Stalking, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Confinement, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Cancer, Car accident, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Murder, Grief, Bullying, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Violence

lavenderprince01's review

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

Omg! This book was so good!
When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it and discussing it with my friend who had read it
It was so tense and stressful in the best possible way

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Child death, Violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Vomit, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Blood, Car accident, Drug use, Racism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Animal death

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, and Self harm

adamparrishlover's review

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Domestic abuse

carlaa_aa's review

lighthearted mysterious tense

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Death, Drug use, and Death of parent

lazulisky's review

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Violence, Suicide, Animal death, Sexual assault, Racism, Murder, Kidnapping, Infidelity, and Grief

eleos01's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Xenophobia, Racism, Body shaming, Self harm, Emotional abuse, and Bullying

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Confinement

em_no_el30's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Grief

Minor: Rape, Suicide, Self harm, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Sexual assault, and Racism

shannonharper_x's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I'm desperate to start the second book! The twists and tension in this book kept me so on edge and  it was so fun to follow along in the investigations and piece together the clues myself. Even then, the constant twists and turns of new information was unexpected and rerouted my train of thought!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Kidnapping, Murder, and Drug use

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Animal death, Violence, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Cancer, Vomit, and Dementia

the_embodiment_of_chaos's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Murder, Violence, Suicide, Grief, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Cancer, Rape, Animal death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, and Car accident

Minor: Death of parent, Self harm, Alcohol, Racism, and Body shaming

ira_22_3's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This one was a thrilling read. It has twists and turns, threats and that continuous questioning of "Can I trust the clues in front of me?" that makes for an engaging read. While some of the actions the main character takes, feel a little unrealistic, they really work to build a narrative in which it is never quite clear who is responsible for Andie's disappearance. The last 50 pages or so feel a little rushed, but that being said, the rest of the novel is well paced. I like that no character is perfect and there's some banter to brighten up the darkness of the story at the right moments. Definitely recommend reading if you like a thriller!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault and Racism

Minor: Self harm