Reviews with content warning for Death - Странная Салли Даймонд

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Странная Салли Даймонд by Liz Nugent

150 reviews

lavanyasbooks's review against another edition

4.0

dark sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It’s one of the strangest darkest books I have ever read. Containing every trigger one can think of it’s a difficult read but I finished it in a day only because I couldn’t stop wondering what’s going to happen next.

I have rated it four stars for the sheer gumption of the author to come up with such a difficult story that evokes such pathos and yet making you sympathise with dark characters who in principle do not deserve your sympathy.

I just had a problem with the ambiguous ending but I guess this story couldn’t have ended any other way.

Go into it blind but prepared your heart to be broken.

Content Warnings

laurajadeslibrary's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Wow. This may be my new favourite thriller... Or at least it is definitely up there!

It's difficult to review this as much as I would like without sharing any spoilers, but I just loved it. It was phenomenal.

I was so invested in the story. It was incredibly dark and disturbing and utterly heartbreaking.

This wasn't the fast paced, twisty thriller that I'm used to, but it was shocking in its own right. It's not a light read, but it's still a compelling one. I was so engrossed.

Sally Diamond. What a fascinating, unique and intricate character. I don't think I'm going to forget about her anytime soon. Her story is tragic, but I enjoyed her development throughout the book and really cared for her. She is so authentic and quirky and deserves all happiness.

There are many dark themes in this book, but they have been expertly portrayed with the sensitivity they deserve.

Please check the trigger warnings if there are any topics you feel you may be sensitive to.

Content Warnings

alessandrams's review against another edition

4.5

dark funny sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

charlotte112's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

A heartwrenching story told through the eyes of an unconventional victim. Sally is learning to live a life without her known comforts that her dad provided for her whilst grappling with learning about her past and why she is the way she is. I enjoyed the way this was told through the multiple perspectives but I did find it had to remember who was who throughout. Sally was unconventional but not a complete psycho and I often felt like the reactions of everyone around her were uncalled for and bordering on patronising for the most part, especially knowing her history. It was a sad story told through an the lens of two damaged individuals.

Content Warnings

lavenderwitch's review against another edition

3.75

dark funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

lue_moon's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I'm still sitting with how I'm feeling about this book...particularly the ending. It felt pretty well paced, intriguing, and took some dark turns that were interesting to read. I really liked the relationships Sally developed with her friends and some of the development around her character. I did get thrown off a bit by the inclusion of the pandemic at the end (wasn't expecting it and it brought it back closer to the real world, which I usually pretend I don't exist in while reading 🙃).

Content Warnings

fluffy1st's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

lindseyrinehart's review against another edition

2.0

dark slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is probably a “reader know thyself” situation. If I had known there were comparisons of this book to “Room” I would have avoided it altogether. I DNFed “Room” and truly hated it so much. I was really enjoying the story and Sally until we switched to Peter’s point of view. I listened on audio and could not have had a stronger ick reaction to him even when he was a child. We find out a lot about the past in Peter’s POV as he slowly catches up to Sally’s current day POV. I continued enjoying Sally’s POV as she really grows and improves herself after her father’s death. I don’t really understand the direction things took at the end. I’m just not sure what the message of the book is meant to be. It wasn’t mysterious and the ending is the opposite of redemptive, whatever that is. I felt gross when I finished this book.

Content Warnings