Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

101 reviews

lifewithjoce's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

Rebecca Makkai’s latest novel is, to be honest, nearly too overambitious. It shoots to have a perspective on everything, and while most of the time that misses for me, I Have Some Questions For You manages to pull it off by leaning directly into the unlikeable narrator quality without undercutting my investment in the story.

The book takes place in the aftermath of #MeToo, with our now adult narrator looking back on her days at her high school boarding school while also going through things in the present day. The true “mystery” of this book revolves around a 15 year-old murder that resulted in a Black man being imprisoned. While there are some conspiracy theories that he did not actually do it, for the most part it is believed.

It is only now, all this time later, that our narrator takes the time to think about whether Omar could have possibly actually done it, and what it means if he didn’t. What complicates this story is that rather than just exploring this one mystery, we are also exploring what it means to live in a post-#MeToo Trump era.

Full Review: https://writethroughthenight.com/2023/03/23/i-have-some-questions-for-you-a-messy-thriller-even-messier-protagonist-review/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Sexual harassment

alana_gf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Murder

chrisdennismyers's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

4.5

There were a few side plots I could have done without but otherwise I love, love, loved this; it was chaotic and dark and mysterious. The entire thing was masterfully handled. Makkai is brilliant.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Bullying

yes_smam's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

c100's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cancer

goldenbeebookshop's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

3.0

It's hard to rate this book because there are some compelling things happening here, but it's hard to tell from the description that this novel is mostly about the realities of women who are assaulted and/or murdered, the men who more often than not get away with it, and the deeply flawed and racist judicial system. These are not tangential things- these are the main focus of the plot more than any mysterious aspect finding the real killer.
All evidence thus far does paint a bleak picture for women in America- and there's value to that being explored, I just don't know how I feel about it being hung on this mystery scaffolding. The main character's actions do prompt some questions about whether or not there's nuance when it comes to believing women, to penalizing men for the actions of the past and assessing whether there's a spectrum of behaviors that might warrant different actions, and what kind of justice or truth can be found in the court of public opinion in a time when anyone can have a podcast or YouTube channel.
There is some great writing here- little concise sentences here are there that completely capture the feeling of being young, or being lost, or a person struggling in the world.
The pacing is a little slow in the beginning, and Bode felt a little incomplete as a character. There are little pieces of things dropped in and abandoned that I was uncertain as to whether they were meant to serve as mini red herrings or if they were underdeveloped plot additions. The last quarter of the book did move a lot faster and I find myself eager to sit down and read for an hour straight, which I hadn't been as eager to do before.
I think it might be helpful for people to know going into this that this is a story that feels true in that justice is rarely found in white patriarchal contexts, vigilante justice while potentially satisfying isn't always accurate or successful, and there are ripples of grief and shame that impact family and friends because of the choices of one person that are inescapable. There's no real high note to end on here, which is real, but rare in a fictional mystery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

liblibby's review against another edition

mysterious reflective fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

This book pulled me out of a late-winter slump when everything sucks. This book grabbed me from the first two pages and never let me go.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer and Eating disorder

hellocath's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

a perfect meditation on the disfunction of the ‘justice’ system (particularly with regard to gender based violence and the way white men can get away with anything), #MeToo and the nuance required in examining power dynamics and abuse, the ethics of true crime storytelling, and the way high school has an unmatched and specifically fucked up impact on the psyche no matter how much therapy you go to. suggest this book to the weirdo in your life that doesn’t get why John Tory dating a staffer 30 years his senior is an abuse of power! also I’m not usually a big audiobook fan but this one is excellent; so well-narrated and very engrossing. please join my prayer circle for an Amy Adams screen adaptation starring Gillian Anderson tysm

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Self harm, Suicide, and Death of parent

sarahsbookss's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

leoniekross's review

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
Recap:
Boarding school crime mystery is a genre I enjoy a lot. In this, Bodie Kane, a successful podcaster, comes back to her old high school under the guise of holding a class about podcasting while sorting through her memories about a murder that took place there her junior year. The investigation was famously botched and Bodie questions whether the real perpetrator is in jail.

The book is divided into 2 parts, the first dealing with her arrival at her old school and creating a podcast with students to explore questions about the case. The second part deals with

the retrial of the convicted suspect

. Mixed into the narrative are sections showing flashbacks to Bodie's school days as well as lists of similar, publicly known, often casually brushed aside instances of misogyny and sexism in the American justice system and in the everyday lives of women - often concluding in their murder.

Review:
After reading a few books with the same boarding school setting, I was excited to start this one, hoping it would go heavier on the sleuthing and lighter on the trauma. Well, better luck next time. I wish Makkai had leaned wayyyy more into the detectiving aspect. I wanted old secrets burried in the walls, sneaky interviews with old staff, an actual amateur investigation. What I got was Bodie extensively internally ruminating on what other people had discovered. Throughout, she remained a passive onlooker who gave unimportant, drawn-out context about her peers from back in their school days. That was her whole role in this.

I think the author should have done away with Part 1 entirely and have Bodie be confronted with her old biases and assumptions about people during the court hearing. Her old classmates would have been in town for that, we could have had flashbacks triggered by run-ins w her former peers and we would have gotten a far better sense of their relationships and prejudices against one another. We didn't need Bodie to be at school and walk w her step by step as she inspires a student podcast abt the case. This was so irrelevant and could have easily been background info given in a couple of pages. That way the book would have had a much clearer direction. As is, it feels muddled.

 While the writing style is mostly easy and engaging, there is simply too much of it. 100 pages could have been cut easily. 
I did like the cast of characters though. Most of them were only superficially explored but they were likable and believable.

The book tried to discuss the issues of crime/punishment/innocence/the court of public opinion by looking at it from a few different angles. And as commendable as that effort is, it bloated the story. The storyline abt

Bodie's ex husband

, for example, added little, had no relevant consequences and only managed to take away from the main plot, thus uncomfortably (unnecessarily) centering white feminism.

I wished there had also been a conclusion to the gimmick of Bodie narrating the whole story to a specific character. Maybe the end would have revealed it was all a podcast episode or a post-court private conversation. But no, there was seemingly no reason other than

to clunkily misdirect the reader's suspicions

.

Generally, I was missing a conclusion to some plotlines. But I have a feeling that was a deliberate choice. Many of the plotlines begin somewhere, intertwine, stay for a bit, fade out. Sort of like the book was mimicing how these events go in real life. I enjoyed that when it came to friendships & relationships. Not so much the main story (the court hearing, the misdirect, the actual reveal) though. The endings of those were too open and unfinished for it to be a satisfying read.

Tl;dr:
A mixed bag.
Would recommend for people who enjoy ruminations on their teen years and fucked up high school reunions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Child death, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Alcohol