Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

31 reviews

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

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

tschmitty's review

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

 I understand how this was a sensational read at the time of publication, but the longer it went on the less I cared about the three characters involved. Neely was especially annoying, what a pill! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Body shaming, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Addiction, Homophobia, Abortion, Alcoholism, Drug use, Cancer, and Sexism

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

bxcvi's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Drug use, Homophobia, Addiction, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Abortion, Biphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Medical content, and Cancer

morenowagain's review against another edition

dark emotional funny fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexism, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Fatphobia, Drug use, and Death of parent

Moderate: Classism, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Abortion, Fatphobia, Sexism, Suicide, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Biphobia, Body shaming, Medical trauma, and Toxic relationship

This novel uses the word f*g/f*ggot over 25 times.

laurenw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Body shaming, Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Drug abuse, and Medical content

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Homophobia

Minor: Cancer

lucypratt7's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content and Mental illness