Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

29 reviews

kelsie4's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Picked up this book not knowing how huge it was (both in size and in popularity) that they made a movie. All the more I was intrigued to read it. If you love a book carried by dialogue this is for you. I devoured this book. As a woman living in New York I feel that pressure to be something or other everyone is trying but you see only the special few make it. It’s an empowering book to see stubborn women paving the way for themselves but of course it comes at a price. Nobody’s likable but you root for them anyways to have a revelation and change. A book I’d like to have a copy of and let everyone I know read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, Classism, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Death, Abortion, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Misogyny, Mental illness, Body shaming, Toxic friendship, Fatphobia, Drug use, Cancer, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, and Alcoholism

abbymatherne's review

dark emotional sad 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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. It was everything I wanted Black Swans by Eve Babitz to be. The story follows three main women and their downfalls as they each transform into the person they swore they would never be due to men, addiction, and greed. This is not a particularly moving or deep novel, but it kept my attention and I found it enjoyable to read. I enjoyed reading about the lives of the three young women in glamorous locations and the psychological toll explored when one tries to navigate the entertainment industry and the world of the wealthy. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Fatphobia, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Abortion, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Cancer, Drug use, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Self harm

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Abortion, Cancer, Death, Alcohol, Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Suicide, Confinement, Cursing, Misogyny, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Mental illness, War, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Car accident, Lesbophobia, and Violence

Minor: Antisemitism

moonwillow27458's review

challenging dark emotional 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: Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Drug use, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Addiction, Death, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Terminal illness, Body shaming, and Gaslighting

emjames22's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Homophobia

haileyeh's review

dark sad fast-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Suicide, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Cancer, Infertility, Infidelity, Homophobia, and Abortion

taylorgraves555's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Alcohol, Drug use, and Drug abuse

readingwith_bre's review

dark slow-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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

gabriella_'s review

dark emotional funny sad tense

• 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

4.5

this book is going to haunt me, i know it. parts of the book are tough to swallow (esp the fatphobia/body shaming, ableism, and homophobia) but if you can power through, it’s so worth it. idk if this is a hot take but i think it has a similar message to the barbie movie but it does it better

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Gaslighting, Grief, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Cancer, Classism, Confinement, Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Blood, Body shaming, Abandonment, Ableism, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death of parent, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Death

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.