Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

What It Feels Like for a Girl by Paris Lees

3 reviews

notthatcosta's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

2.75

It sounds incredibly pedantic and shallow to harp on how the book is written in Lees' accent (at least as it was in the years in focus), but it really did dampen by enjoyment of the book. I appreciate a big swing, and the concept of writing a first-person narrative via your younger self made the book incredibly touching at points, but it also made it drag.

Saying that, the ending was incredibly powerful and did manage to choke me up. Paris Lees' story is a great one and one that ought to be told, but my basic self would have preferred it to be written differently. 

If you - unlike me - are able to get over yourself, you'll probably enjoy it a lot. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Addiction, Bullying, Dysphoria, Excrement, Violence, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Cancer, Cursing, Sexual violence, Deadnaming, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Racism, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Medical content, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

4.0

This is a fascinating memoir. I listened to the audiobook which I think was the best way for me to absorb the story, because it's written in a Hucknall dialect and I think I might have struggled with it on the page. However it was really immersive to listen to and Lees' narration is brilliant. It felt more like a novel because it's told from Lees' point of view at the time, rather than her looking back and reflecting on her teenage years as an adult. It finishes as she starts university but I heard her on a podcast talking about writing more memoirs which I'd definitely pick up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Transphobia

Moderate: Terminal illness, Death, and Death of parent

ladymirtazapine's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Excrement, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Violence, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

Minor: Animal cruelty