Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Girls by Emma Cline

77 reviews

annasophie's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.25

3.25 - I liked the writing itself more than the story. I actually marked many phrases and passages because they stuck out to me, and I’m excited to explore more of Cline’s work. The setting was what drew me to the novel originally; there’s just something about 20th Century southern California, no matter the exact decade, that fascinates me. Truly one of my favorite geographical settings for stories, especially since I cannot think of one happy, non-depressing, non-messed up story set in Cali off the top of my hat. Somehow the Californian atmosphere just demands gloomy stories that palpably feel like inhaling the dark, heavy smog on a hot day in LA. 
The idea of taking the Manson Family and the infamous murder of Sharon Tate as starting point was also incredibly intriguing to me but I just couldn’t fully get into the plot. I guess I’m just not big on the pairing of little girls, drugs, sex, abuse and manipulation, even in a story that’s as intriguing as the Manson Family. I love the exploration of dark psychology, trauma, and all things, except when it involves underage girls. Maybe it’s because I watched the movie 13 when I was way too young and now I’m just over those stories. It’s a good book, it’s very well written, but it just wasn’t for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Gaslighting, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual content

Moderate: Body shaming

Minor: Death of parent, Eating disorder, and Self harm

yeolliesutr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, and Pedophilia

Minor: Sexism, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Self harm, Misogyny, Terminal illness, and Excrement

nsidhu's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Drug use, Toxic friendship, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Child abuse and Pedophilia

Minor: Blood and Gore

readingrainbow_butmakeitspoopy's review against another edition

dark sad tense

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Violence

rachel_glenn's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

cboll's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault

samflowerv6's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

gritty and disturbing which is what the author was going for. accurate representation of attention seeking behaviors in young girls and how that can impact their relationships with men.

“That was part of being a girl--you were resigned to whatever feedback you'd get. If you got mad, you were crazy, and if you didn't react, you were a bitch. The only thing you could do was smile from the corner they'd backed you into. Implicate yourself in the joke even if the joke was always on you.” 

“That was our mistake, I think. One of many mistakes. To believe that boys were acting with a logic that we could someday understand. To believe that their actions had any meaning beyond thoughtless impulse. We were like conspiracy theorists, seeing portent and intention in every detail, wishing desperately that we mattered enough to be the object of planning and speculation. But they were just boys. Silly and young and straightforward; they weren't hiding anything.” 

“So much of desire, at that age, was a willful act. Trying so hard to slur the rough, disappointing edges of boys into the shape of someone we could love. We spoke of our desperate need for them with rote and familiar words, like we were reading lines from a play. Later I would see this: how impersonal and grasping our love was, pinging around the universe, hoping for a host to give form to our wishes.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Gore, Vomit, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Alcoholism, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Death, Torture, Murder, Hate crime, Drug use, and Violence

Children in bad living conditions was so bad

gigizerlotti's review against another edition

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

3.25

very okay book. i enjoyed the setting and time lines, but not the most interesting or profound book. very teenage. enjoyable read because language is very simple, but not memorable or impressive in any way. would recommend to non readers or something like that. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Murder, Rape, and Sexual harassment

anb2300's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, and Murder

beanie_bob's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.0

A seven figure advance on a book where nothing happens in the most excruciatingly boring way possible. I can't scrub this pretentiousness away.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Child abuse