Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks

6 reviews

possumbly's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Oof. This has such strong "hello fellow kids" D.A.R.E. boomer energy.  Disingenuous, leaden fear mongering. Despite it being ostensibly a sad story, I felt very little. The protagonist has the emotional authenticity of a dollar store greeting card and the story has the pacing of the Porta Potty line on day three of a chili cook-off.

I found the trajectory of her supposed decline into addiction so badly strained my credulity that I could use a nice big pile of dope to ease my pain. Maybe those dopers who are apparently going around popping blunts into people's purses will visit me! Oy. 

As an added bonus, it managed to be preachy AND transphobic AND homophobic! Yuck.

Just say no. To this book.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

grclnntt's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

2.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

stbooksmore's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

I read this in school (I'm now 35) I loved this book then but when I keep trying to go re-read it it's hard to get into.
This is definitely one I recommend though but I must warn you there should be MANY trigger warnings!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

hoffmann's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad fast-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

0.5

Literally the worst book I’ve ever read. Please read ANYTHING else. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

gavinneedham's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark 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

1.75

Don’t read this book, it is not good. This is 200 pages of conservative puritanical backlash to the hippies. How they ever got away with marketing this as nonfiction I don’t know. The plot is so badly devised and unrealistic. The narrator is one of the most annoying in fiction.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

zombiezami's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

3.0

I like this book as a snapshot of life in the 1970s. A lot of the text brought me back to the pain of being a teenager. However, a lot of the plot isn't very plausible. There's also a lot of homophobia thrown in for no reason. I waited until after I finished the book to look up anything about its publication, and found out the real author's identity. That was very illuminating. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...