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alyssapusateri's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Death, Suicide, Child death, Stalking, and Self harm
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Blood, Sexism, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Cursing
Minor: Eating disorder, Rape, Racial slurs, Ableism, Racism, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Animal death, and Physical abuse
kumipaul's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Sexism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Physical abuse
christinewonder's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, and Child death
Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Blood, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Abortion
Minor: Drug use and Drug abuse
eloisajfletcher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Grief, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
Lots of objectification. Mental health issues including depression and PTSDphillyhufflepunk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Lisbon Girls deserved better, and although the story would have been 10x better from their perspectives, I still rate it 4 stars because by hearing the story from a bunch of clueless middle aged men, who were clueless teenaged boys, you see just how ignored these girls felt when they were practically SCREAMING for help.
Moderate: Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Racism, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, and Suicide
fancymcgee's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
“daughters of the community”
Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Blood, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Self harm, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Medical trauma
Minor: Racial slurs
lindseyhall44's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
The Virgin Suicides is a book set amidst the backdrop of mundane suburban life, where a community is forever changed by the suicides of five sisters. Told in first person plural (the male gaze), readers are pulled into the mystery and obsession which will haunt the boys for years to come.
I never expected to enjoy this book so much, much less find it a new favorite. But the compelling writing and dark undertones made it difficult to put down. The story of the Lisbon girls (told through every perspective except their own) is one which I will never forget.
I would definitely recommend (though take time to consider when this was written and the aspects which have not aged well, and please check trigger warnings before reading)!
*I would also recommend watching the movie after, it’s iconic and generation defining!
Graphic: Grief, Suicide attempt, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Mental illness, Medical content, Blood, Self harm, Medical trauma, and Ableism
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
merries's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
I, like many others, wish the other sisters were as fleshed out as Lux. It’s clear that she is the sister at the forefront of the narrator’s infatuation, but a lack of development for Mary, Therese, and Bonnie made it hard for me to distinguish the behaviours of the three, almost-forgotten sisters. Cecilia was given more detail as she was the catalyst, and Lux as she was the centre of the narrator’s lust for the sisters.
Speaking of the narrator, the recalling of events and explanations are very description-heavy, which is not my preference. As a result, I felt lost in the concrete events due to the obsession over the abstract. I feel like a lot of this could have been left out of the book, in favour for developing characters who are meant to be the centre of the story.
However, there were a lot of positives to this book: I devoured this book rather quickly, feeling a need to read on to get to the breaking point of the Lisbon sisters. While that seems a cruel statement, the narrator had explicitly stated multiple times exactly how the sisters died - but not what caused it, and it was that which intrigued me the most.
I felt like Mr and Mrs Lisbon were arguably the most complex characters in the book - we never experienced a true exploration into why they were so cruel, and why they restricted the actions of their daughters. They were enjoyable to question, and provided another level of intrigue as I read.
Overall, this was the book that ended my reading slump of Summer 22, and while it was a book I enjoyed on the whole, I do have my qualms with the details.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Medical content
girl_interrupted's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Drug use
karenaerts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, and Racism