Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

18 reviews

simmy_books's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

I really liked this book and enjoyed the plot, there was a lot of suspects in the book and I loved the red herrings applied in the story as well, every time you thought someone was the actual killer, another secret would be revealed and we were thrown off. I enjoyed all the characters, I felt they made the story even more interesting because they all had something to hide, I liked how they all played a part in the story.

The writing was very easy to follow along and I considered it fast paced, it was written in first person so it made me feel as if I was within the story itself. I like how I was able to continue being entertained and never wanted to put the book down. Very engaging and I highly recommend to readers who want to dabble in murder mysteries. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death, Physical abuse, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Child abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Child death, Abortion, and Suicide

ebony1ouise's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Rape, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Blood, Addiction, Mental illness, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child death, Abortion, Body horror, Death, Grief, Child abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Murder, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug use, Physical abuse, Infidelity, and Suicide attempt

savreads28's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Medical content, Self harm, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Blood, Cancer, Car accident, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Police brutality, and Pedophilia

nomron's review against another edition

dark medium-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

3.75

I didn't really like this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Abandonment, Violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Abortion, Vomit, Drug use, Drug abuse, Car accident, Blood, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Cursing, Child abuse, and Gore

elisabeth_li's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Blood, Child death, Pedophilia, Violence, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Cursing

abbeyroad1410's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Starting this review on a positive note, The Cheerleaders tackles serious topics very well. One of the best decisions Kara Thomas makes in this book is not revealing exactly how Jen died. When you compare this to other books advertised to teens that cover the same issues (such as 13 Reasons Why), it is clear what a responsible decision this is. 
Speaking of Jen, she deserved more chapters from her perspective. Monica is a good lead and serves her purpose of moving along the plot, but Jen is a far more dynamic character in the few chapters we get of her. Jen and Ethan's friendship is well-written and they provide a complex and compelling storyline (though I wish Ethan's motivations were clarified more.) 
The message of this story seems to be that most things in life are tangentially connected, though how connected they are may not be clear. The ending to this book perfectly encapsulates this idea that nearly everything is intertwined. Additionally, Kara Thomas makes sure not to convolute the plot to the point that the connections are blurry at best.
My biggest complaint about this novel is the multitude of characters with names which leads to an abundance of confusion. I couldn't remember who characters like Varney or Bethany's mom were when I got to chapters with them, sending me on a wild goose chase to find out their importance.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Death of parent, Abortion, Child abuse, Death, and Adult/minor relationship

katherinesreadingalot's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

i liked it but i still feel like some things are left unanswered for me

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Stalking, Death, Alcohol, Car accident, Grief, Domestic abuse, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Child abuse

Minor: Abortion

rebecca_spain's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Grief, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Murder, Gore, Grief, Suicide, Abortion, Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, and Death

liez's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Infidelity, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Car accident, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, and Pedophilia

rae1019's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Suicide, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Car accident, Child abuse, and Suicide