Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

47 reviews

sarah984's review against another edition

1.0

dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This book is hyped up so much everywhere and I didn't like it at all. The writing style is so over the top (every time the main character meets even a minor setback she's like "then he turned into a bear and shot me in the face"), the characters have one trait each, and the way the author can't seem to decide whether these characters’ obscene wealth is embarrassing or aspirational and kind of tries to do both drove me nuts. (The dismissive comments in the afterward about Cady’s "marxism" do suggest a few things though...)

I thought this was a thriller from the blurb but nothing happens and the twist is beyond stupid. (Also I have no idea how the character got out of the situation revealed in the twist without any injuries that would be noticeable months later even if she did have amnesia.) I don't think this book had any redeeming qualities.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol

Minor: Self harm, Sexual content, Vomit, Death of parent, Abandonment

duckydarlingg's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional funny sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism

katiea714's review against another edition

3.5

dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Racism, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Murder

Minor: Infertility, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation

sililium8's review against another edition

3.25

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I thought this book was edging me on on topics that I wanted to know more about. The author briefly mentioned topics such as racism, white privilege, and classism. I didn’t quite understand why the author mentioned them without having those conversations. I guess considering <possible spoiler> the ending those conversations couldn’t be had. I also thought the book was kinda slow, it focused heavily on the MC Cady Sinclair and her wading through her memories and remembering them which I personally didn’t like. I did like how the author put what the MC was going through in a fairytale format. It was really creative and told a story without actually confessing anything, which I feel like is very reminiscent of the Sinclair family. There were parts where I wasn’t sure where the MC was being dramatic and where the MC was being serious. She mentions a part where

her dad shoots her??? and then turns out it was a metaphor for him hurting her??? I don’t know I was confused…

. I liked how the book kept me asking questions along with the MC, I spent the whole book trying to figure out what else happened and how it fit in the story. I loved the ending and was not really expecting it and it made me cry so hard. I liked this book and would read it once more in the future to see if I get more of it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Racism, Self harm, Blood, Dementia, Gaslighting, Abandonment

Minor: Rape

jannaploe's review against another edition

1.75

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Grief, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol

knifewifestan's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting

Moderate: Racism

eclareb's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Racism, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting

Minor: Alcoholism, Colonisation