Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

76 reviews

ppppaula's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Fast paced, dark thriller. Think Room + Eleanor Oliphant. I couldn’t put it down despite the dark subject. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Car accident, Confinement, Rape, Kidnapping, Racism, Sexual assault, and Misogyny

grimalkin7's review

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.25

I may need botox after how much frowning I did! "Jesus Christ!" was also invoked quite frequently.

This book kept me engaged because of the constant plot twists and it  keept me guessing. Though odd, Sally became quite a loveable character and I thoroughly enjoyed her growth, but also her bluntness (my favourite quote being "Stop calling me a racist." "Stop being one."). It was heartwarming to see her friendships blossom and I was gutted reading how they all kind of fell apart at the end.

I was really rooting for Peter and was so disappointed when he turned out to be just like his dad, more or less. Hey, a kidnapper with morals is still a kidnapper!

The ending was a bit of a let down for me because I was optimistic it would be a happy one, but I suppose Liz didn't want it to be predictable.

With that said, this was one of the most captivating reads for me in a while. I could hardly put the book down because I just wanted to find out what happened next! Liz did a good job with those cliff hangers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Rape

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, Car accident, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Racism

mrsp2603's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual content, Rape, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse

cheryl_gager's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.25

This book took me by surprise in more than one way. The synopsis does not hint at how dark the themes of this book are and when it is revealed at the start of part 2 (just under 100 pages in) it is shocking. I think the themes are tackled in a way that is easily digestible as there is a level of detachment from a lot of the most traumatic, disturbing moments (which were off page) didn't happen to the characters whose POVs we get. I loved Sally as a character, the growth she had and the inner turmoil she faced made her POV heartbreaking and heart warming all at once. I got frustrated with the side characters around her because they expected her to be understanding to things and others but it was not always reciprocated and she was never truly given the benefit of the doubt and treated like her choices mattered, especially if she made them on her own. The other POV was more heartbreaking. This is a story of how a negative cycle of behaviour can start (I am using negative but it is not even close to how dark somethings got) and how the cycle continues but I feel like there is hope at the end of the potential for these generational cycles to be broken.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual violence, and Torture

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, and Car accident

This has a lot darker themes then the synopsis would suggest. You do read about a child being kidnapped and held in a looked room. You also can work out what is going on in the room where the 2 different women were held (one of which you meet after they have been there for 7 years already), and it does eventually being said / confirmed later in the book. However, you do not actually see what happens to these poor girls/women in this situation and you are reading about it from someone who never witnessed the worst of it. There is one racist character but they are confronted and challenged straight away and they face consequences which are so fitting. The book ends at the start of the 2020 pandemic so there is brief mention of it existing but no real detail about what it is or the effects. Mental health and trauma is also discussed and you do read transcripts from the first victim / person kidnapped, whilst in a psychiatric ward in the lead up before she commits suicide.

isahart7's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Torture, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Rape

hugsy85's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Confinement, Kidnapping, Rape, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Mental illness

coronationcorgi's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Violence, Suicide attempt, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexism, Self harm, Rape, and Sexual violence

nialiversuch's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Ableism, Self harm, Grief, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Vomit, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Suicide, and Pregnancy

nikki_jcf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Torture, Rape, Violence, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Gaslighting

Minor: Suicide, Racism, and Death of parent

mariannelwnicholson's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

I would never tell someone to read this book. It's dark and sad and horrible. You think it's a weird, slightly funny story about a sad girl and then from nowhere it's about her horrific background and then it gets hopeful and you think it'll all be okay and then it ends by basically telling you that there is no hope and there is no way to escape the cycle of abuse. AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Confinement, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence