Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

37 reviews

subtlymelancholy's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

It's a slow start but if you really like Old Hollywood (before the collapse of the studio system, so like 1940s-60s) once you start it's REALLY difficult to put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Medical content, Sexism, Suicide, Addiction, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, and Terminal illness

There are a lot of seriously triggering topics covered in this book and it's not really something that can easily be skipped over. It's also a combination of the characters' internalized feelings and the result of the time and place the book was written.

rose12435's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

This book is dark and like bojack horseman for girls that enjoy drama and misery. While this book isn't happy, I genuinely enjoyed finding out how much worse the characters could get.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicide, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Alcoholism, Cancer, Fatphobia, Cursing, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Rape, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Drug use, and Grief

This book is dark and not afraid to hurt it's reader. Please please please be careful when reading it

robyn1998's review

dark funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I'm glad I read this, but if I ever read the trigger warnings I would've left it alone. There's an enormous amount of diet talk, specific weights (some of which were a bit too real for me), ED behaviour and so on. Not to mention the fatphobia and dehumanisation of women. 
That being said, it's 4 stars because it was somehow so entertaining. I just couldn't put it down. It was like a time capsule and I love that in a book, especially when it's set in the US in the middle of the 20th century. Makes me want to read more Truman Capote books. I liked the characterisations, even though the characters themselves were mostly horrible.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Classism, Body shaming, Abortion, Homophobia, Misogyny, Addiction, Fatphobia, and Drug use

cgm42's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Mental illness, Homophobia, Addiction, and Infidelity

Moderate: Ableism, Lesbophobia, Suicide, Eating disorder, and Body shaming

hannahibalecter's review

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

might eventually change the review to 4.75….but why does no one talk about this book being structured like a greek tragedy? bleak. absolutely bleak. 

if you hated the characters and then gave the book a poor review, i fear you missed the point. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Suicide attempt

alpal_collective's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Suicide, Addiction, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Homophobia and Alcoholism

noshinbean's review

dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, and Mental illness

Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Cancer, Grief, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Death, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

chrisp189's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Drug use, Eating disorder, Addiction, Fatphobia, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy, Self harm, Suicide, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, and Toxic friendship

vera_nikolajevna's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction

Moderate: Eating disorder and Homophobia

ellereads__'s review

dark sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Eating disorder, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt