Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

11 reviews

maple_dove's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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? Yes

4.0

Sawkill Girls is a feminist story similar by Stranger Things about three queer girls vs. a a scary monster.

Before reading this book, I read Extasia. The feminist and queer themes are definitely present in Sawkill Girls too. I liked this book throughout, but my favorite parts are after the halfway mark.

The asexual alloromantic and exes-to-friends representation was GREATTT!

However, there is one qualm I have about this book.

He had insisted on cleaning up the kitchen before turning in, otherwise the crusty layers of casserole on their late-night dinner plates would fester and haunt him, snickering in the kitchen while he lay awake staring at the ceiling.
The adorable little freak.

. . .

From what I know, the word freak is a pretty triggering word for the disabled community, because it implies that they are things to be feared.

⭐️ Favorite Quotes: 

"Can I once again apologize on behalf of men everywhere?" Grayson offered. "Because we can really fucking suck sometimes."
Zoey arched an eyebrow. "Sometimes?"
"Most of the time."
"There it is."

Marion couldn't imagine a God like the one she'd grown up hearing about--some man sitting in the clouds, maneuvering the pieces of the world to suit his whims because he, of course, knows best.
But she could imagine a God in the shape of an island crowned with trees, brooding in the middle of a black sea.

"I don't know what will happen to us once we get to the obscura. The book says he can't be killed--"
"Screw that book," said Val. "It was written by men." She held out her free hand to Marion. "We're rewriting it." (pg. 385-386)

Marion stood at the port side railing, her back to everyone and her black hair streaming out behind her--a dark queen, surveying the battlefield.

"What's wrong with you?" Zoey had never heard Valerie Mortimer's voice sound so unfinished. "None of this is necessary--"
"I will decide what is necessary!" howled Briggs, his grip tightening painfully around Zoey's arm. "This is the way it is done. This is the way our fathers taught us."
"Your fathers,"  Val replied, "were full of shit." (pg. 398)

"The Collector must feed. He must be banished from our world. So it has been done, and so it is done, and so it shall always be done."
"And so it shall always be done," repeated the men, reminding Zoey of the way Borg drones proclaimed they were going to assimilate you, that resistance was futile, that you were screwed and there was no way out, sorry about that.
[...]
But then Marion spoke.
"And so," she said, her voice low and serene, "it shall never done again." (pg. 398-399)

"It's not our job to save the world. It can't be. That's not fair."
"If it's not our job," Marion asked quietly, "whose is it?"

Hope, she thought, breathing with the tide, was a choice that only those with resolute hearts dared to make.

Stardust cares not for the agony of demons.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Gore, Grief, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Gun violence, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Death of parent, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Kidnapping, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Sexual content

Minor: Car accident, Drug use, Cancer, Vomit, Racism, and Suicide

Underage drinking (graphic), Verbal abuse (minor)

frog_appreciator's review against another edition

3.5

I love monsterous girls!! But this wasn’t quite monster girl enough for me. I  appreciated the sapphic and ace rep. Started off super invested but my interest kind of flaked off by the end of it. Here are my main issues with it,

I don’t necessarily think Val and by the collector being revealed as the baddies right away couldn’t work, the way it was written just lacked mystery and depth. Also the specific superpowers the girls had didn’t seem cohesive to me/make sense fully. And the whole
cult thing in general, didn’t fit the flow of the story. There was one line about young girls and their hunger, which if expanded upon could have made the whole thing more meaningful but on its on felt out of place. Also the horses and moths and the land in general, wish the connection to the rock was made more explicit. Just would have been a stronger read

Despite this I still read it quickly and enjoyed it for the most part. 
CW: bugs, mainly moths but one scene with lots of spiders too

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Body horror, Acephobia/Arophobia, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Car accident and Sexual content

Minor: Self harm

ghostlyprince's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Emotional abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Suicide attempt, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Minor: Abandonment, Classism, Racism, Vomit, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol

emmaward55's review against another edition

dark sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book is perfect for anyone who loves the Charmed TV series and thought it could be scarier.

When I was on chapter four, my working theory was that the missing girls were being turned into horses by Val and her mum: But oh, it's so much darker than that. I love a good horror film, yet I found myself more creeped out in reading this book than I expected to be. Legrand's writing is evocative, tense, and atmospheric, without getting too bogged down in description. There's plenty of action and moments of good character growth throughout.

I read this book in two days, mostly in three long chunks, as I couldn't drag myself away to focus on anything else! I loved the complex relationships of our three protagonists and their characterisations have to be a highlight for me. Can't lie though, I’m sad that we didn’t get a reunion scene at the end between Marion and her mum. Considering that this is a book about female relationships, it feels weird to not include one of the protagonists interacting with the last present female parent of the trio. 

That being said, the above was my only real complaint. I'd certainly read this book again and I recommend it for anyone with a strong stomach!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Blood, Self harm, Child death, Violence, Torture, Animal death, Gore, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, and Sexual content

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Miscarriage

Child death and kidnapping:

All are around 17

Self harm:

The only instance I remember is a character burning something off their skin, but it's done to save themselves and others

Drug abuse and suicidal thoughts:

A secondary character isn't trusted with their prescription medication, as a loved one suspects they might intentionally overdose. Nothing actually happens and it's just a brief mention.

oliverreeds's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

pretty good. the character relationships were stilted at the beginning. i didnt understand their motivations but it made sense at the end. i just wish there had been more friendship initially. would have provided a better foundation

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Police brutality, Self harm, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Acephobia/Arophobia, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Toxic relationship

cajesp's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

i throughly enjoyed this book! i’m really surprised how much i came to love val after hating her for most of the first 1/2 of the book but now she’s my favourite character. great character development, world-building, just the right amount of horror and the relationships between the girls was a delight to read. i loved every girl so much and i loved their journey throughout the book. it was a surprisingly great read, i would definitely recommend this one but please be aware of the horror elements, some of the descriptions may be graphic for others! also bonus points for being sapphic and having ace representation!! so great to see :)  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, and Physical abuse

Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Animal death

_forestofpages's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

3.5

I enjoyed the writing immensely, it was creepy and immersive. I really enjoyed that each character was flawed in their own way and that none of them had a perfect relationship with their parents.

The mystery and the villain were super intriguing and I loved the symbolisms for feminism and the cruelty of man, though sometimes it seemed pretty heavy handed. I also liked that it had a Sapphic relationship, though I couldn't really enjoy it because of the context of the one character and her actions toward the other. Also, one of the main characters is ace and I really appreciated that since that orientation is very overlooked.

Now onto spoilers and why its not a four star read for me:

A big important plot point wasn't mentioned or revealed until act 3 which I find kind of weird. I also felt like the overt amount of feminism was unneeded. The second group of antagonists were all these horrible misogynists that didn't show up until act 3. It just felt really heavy-handed and really late in the story to introduce them. Just the likelihood of every one of those guys having the fact they hate women be the reason they do things the way they do them is unreal. Some of them had to want to do it because they wanted to live, or because they had a hero complex and it was for the "greater good" or something. Why were all of their motivations the same? Because it was convenient I would guess. The ending with that conflict felt rushed to me.

I did like the end and how Marian had grown so much that she was willing to die for them and for all the other girls. That was a great moment and I would say out of the three she was my favorite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, Grief, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Vomit, Animal death, Gore, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Sexual assault

larabezzina's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Death of parent, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcohol and Vomit

blurrycat's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

marieketron's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A pretty average read compared to weird (monster) mysteries I read last year. The inclusion and diversity elements were really strong, to the point of occasionally feeling like the reader is being mildly lectured, but I appreciated the message that just because someone regrets and repents for their actions doesn't mean you're obliged to forgive them. The monster elements felt relatively tame, and I felt like the plot could have been a lot shorter, but overall a fine read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Animal death, Death, Child death, Gore, Body horror, Blood, Vomit, Sexual violence, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Rape, Bullying, Confinement, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Minor: Cursing