Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Normal People by Sally Rooney

613 reviews

kaelene's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.25

i actually really liked this book. it’s the fastest i have read a book and i found it freakishly similar to my own life. that made it really hard to read at times but it definitely provoked a lot of reflection and realizations for me, and i thought the issues that it incited were actually really interesting to consider. i journaled a decent amount bc of and about it! i definitely want to read it again, tho i don’t think i’ll be as captivated as i was the first time. initially, you almost want to root for them, feeling sympathetic for them in different moments or struggles. everyone promotes this book as a story about situationships???? but i feel like the story is not about situationships at all. it’s a story about two people who have grown up together and have a complicated, unhealthy relationship and attachment to each other. it feels much deeper and more meaningful than a situationship. that’s so dumb. i think the book also exhibits the experience of mental illness in such a genuine and natural way while highlighting the ways that mental illness can heighten and intensify a relationship when we indulge in our own flaws and in eachothers. its also such a prime example of how miscommunication works and ruins peoples lives. by the end of the book, i was so sick of their inability to be mature and strong that i didn’t care whether or not they ended up together. i felt that the people they grew to be were pathetic. which i should probably reflect on. i felt both depressed and comforted by the story. depressed at the idea that people are hurt or flawed enough to act like this, to suffer for nothing. but comforted at the idea that there are people out there doing worse than me. marianne annoys me in a lot of ways because of how i disagree with her but also in how we are similar too. i definitely think i’m going to read this again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual assault, Suicide, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, and Toxic relationship

gecain0811's review against another edition

emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, Suicide, and Domestic abuse

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Alcohol, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Classism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Death, Violence, Vomit, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny

Minor: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy

lindsey_holmes's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

nlucereads's review against another edition

emotional sad tense 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

3.0

Read it cause of the hype it got last year on TikTok, did not know what I was walking into that much but overall: it’s a good read. Sad, heartbreaking, a little bit of some spicy scenes, and pity. The overall plot, the growing up and learning how to deal with your romantic relationships/situationships, is somewhat nostalgic. I feel like if you can relate to the shitty relationships in this book (I’m sorry first of all), this read can be very emotional. It’s a very fast read, nothing too dense or triggering imo. The ending left me hoping that Marianne finally lets Connell go.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Domestic abuse

sofiafja's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Bullying

hdarling's review against another edition

dark sad 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

2.5

These characters are insufferable, I found it difficult to get through the book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Bullying

maybevie's review against another edition

challenging

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

If i was sally rooney, i would feel deeply embarrassed that i brought this book into the world. Poorly written, and without speech marks. The whole thing was deeply off-putting. I was waiting for it to get good, to resemble the good reviews i’d read- but nope. The characters are fundamentally unlikeable and I didn’t care what happened to them at all. As for their weird little sex scenes- that was completely unnecessary and quite uncomfortable. I don’t think I’ve ever scowled so much. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

paulinskaja's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Eating disorder, Grief, Blood, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Suicide

Minor: Bullying and Panic attacks/disorders

filipa_maia's review against another edition

sad slow-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

1.0

Normal People? NORMAL PEOPLE? Excuse me? That is nothing normal about these people. They need therapy. I'm just glad that, by the end, at least one of them is getting therapy. I'm so mad at this book, so mad at this story. Why? What have we done to Sally Rooney? Honestly, I read it because I do not DNF books but I though about giving up a couple of times. I just don't get the point.

I felt sorry for Marianne a couple of times. Her family is completely broken and she gets nothing from them. Her entire childhood was a mess, her time in school was a living hell... I get it. But when she gets older, when she became and adult, there is no excuse anymore. She replaced her childhood trauma for current trauma by dating a bunch of weird guys and having very wild sex. Just go get some help! Connell is just annoying since the beginning of the story and until the last page. That is one toxic relationship that should have stayed in high school. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Dysphoria, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Bullying, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Rape, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Death