Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

71 reviews

kaaaaaaaa's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This is the first of Flynn's books that I've read, and it's the first of her books to be published. It was good, I just wasn't able to emotionally connect to the characters for some reason. In general, the mystery kept me interested more than the characters. To me, this book reminded me of Stephen King and Shirley Jackson, but it didn't have whatever secret sauce Jackson and King have that pushes the writing and the characters into top-tier. That disconnect makes some of the "disturbing small town details" come off a little forced, despite the fact that I'm well aware of and familiar with disturbing small-town details. I find them believable, but they're missing... something... that integrates them fully into the story; so instead, IMHO, they give a Hostel-style "violence for violence's sake" vibe.

I have a couple more of Flynn's books on hold from the library, so it will be interesting to see how she grows as a writer and if she can clear whatever this je ne sais quoi hurdle is.

Also, this isn't a real make-or-break thing, but how flexible is Camille

that there's only one spot on her back missing the words? How good at writing backwards while looking in a mirror can she be?

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Mental illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Murder, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Child death, Incest, Self harm, Addiction, Death, Classism, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Body horror, Rape, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Vomit and Infidelity

Minor: Eating disorder, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, and Fatphobia

ebsnewts's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Gritty, gripping, f***** up. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Body horror, Murder, Pedophilia, Bullying, Gore, Grief, Self harm, and Sexual content

auggiebug's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Murder, Misogyny, Infertility, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Pedophilia, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

this book is HEAVY! don't read without checking the trigger warnings first!

badtzmarus's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

A nice Introduction to mystery, I really liked how the author depicted the MC's stream of thoughts, a solid story; It's a very heavy read, due to the contents of the story, so I'd recommend reading it in the right headspace.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Child abuse, and Body shaming

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness

Minor: Bullying and Animal death

CWs really don't include it, but there are several detailed descriptions of a teen character sexualizing herself (like her clothes, mannerisms, etc.), if you're uncomfortable with that I'd recommend not reading it since it's very linked with her story.

alehsxsz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

Adoro livros do gênero, mas esse aqui não me conquistou. Objetivamente falando é um livro bom e até bem escrito, há muitas descrições e um desenvolvimento de enredo que ajuda a construir um "clima" perfeito pro auge da história, mas houve várias coisas que me incomodaram na história. Ao longo da história tive a impressão de que muita coisa ali tinha sido colocada com o intuito de chocar o leitor e particularmente não gosto disso, muita informação e muitos detalhes que só serviram pra me deixar com raiva e nada interessada na história. Odiei todos os personagens e todas as opiniões dadas no livro com exceção de uma pessoa. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abandonment, Blood, Body shaming, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

sarahmae531's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I needed a good thriller and this definitely satisfied that! I really enjoyed the twist of the book, right when I was rolling my eyes thinking I figured out the ending, it got switched on me, which kept me on my toes. 

Definitely lots of content warnings for this book, so that’s something to be aware of. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Child abuse, Blood, Alcohol, and Addiction

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual content, and Fatphobia

Minor: Animal death

anamariarozoe's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Rape, Self harm, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

mraddd's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Torture, Emotional abuse, Murder, Blood, Violence, Vomit, Self harm, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Rape

Minor: Pedophilia

danielakalexandra's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.5

I second what another review said that the writing truly makes the small town a character of its own. 

I almost wanted more of the family dynamic to be the focus, even if it definitely is a big part of the story. I would have enjoyed more history of the family members, a deeper look at what made them who they had become. But on the other hand, the feeling of being a bit kept in the dark also helps with the weird and distant family dynamic pictured.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Animal death, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Grief, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Child death, Vomit, Self harm, Murder, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Animal cruelty, and Alcohol

betherly's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Sharp Objects first introduces us to Camille - a reporter living in Chicago with self harm tendencies and recently out of a stint in a psychiatric ward. Over the course of the book the extent of this and the background that led to this gets unravelled as the murder of two young girls in her home town leads her to return home.

Enjoy probably isn’t the right word for this book. I struggled to put it down and devoured the pages quickly and with fascination and a need to know how it ended. But enjoyment would be a weird emotion to use to describe the feelings conjured by the detailed scenes and bizarre and incredibly disturbing behaviour depicted. I would definitely warn that there are triggering subjects regarding child abuse and rape that I struggled to read. 

With regard the mystery itself, I didn’t truly know who had done it until the final chapter with the twists and turns the story took. I definitely had my suspicions between a couple of characters in particular but definitely got surprised by the final reveals. 

A good crime mystery thriller but lost a star for me due to the extent of the scenes depicted and struggling through them. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Child abuse, Bullying, Drug abuse, and Rape