Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

75 reviews

jesselopod's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.25

A well written book with a disappointing plot 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, and Gaslighting

ashtheaudiomancer's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

Not my usual type of thing, but it's a fast-paced murder mystery clearly designed to make you reevaluate our justice system. This only took me a few days to finish once I got started. I also don't have a burning need to read it again though, so take that as you will. Recommended if you're in the usual audience for challenging mysteries.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, and Sexual violence

Minor: Rape

It's a murder mystery where a girl is killed at a high school, there are certain tropes you should probably expect going in. The aftermath is described in detail, and there are multiple times the narrator attempts to reconstruct the events that led to it, but the actual murder is not described in real time.

clarehiyama's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Another banger from Rebecca Makkai! I loved the combo of murder mystery with critiques of the true crime genre. I think she effectively illustrated how traumatizing sexual and gender-based violence can be to the individual who experienced it as well as to their community, and I think she balanced that with a clear critique of the criminal punishment system. Beyond how it fit with my personal politics, I also found it extremely engaging and finished it in a few days. It was hard to put down! That being said, anyone who reads this should know ahead of time that there are numerous detailed depictions of the murder of a young woman. It didn’t feel gratuitous to me but it’s not for everyone.

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Content Warnings

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

nukie19's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

mollywill's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Eating disorder and Blood

Minor: Self harm

alisonvh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

This book is so good! It’s a great murder mystery, but it’s also so much more than that. It faces head-on the issue of girls and women hurt and murdered by men and how hard it is for them to get the protection they need when they’re alive or the justice they deserve when they’re dead.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Car accident and Pandemic/Epidemic

rachaelwho's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

I can't quite pin down what made this not 5 stars for me. I thought if I waited a while to review I'd gather my thoughts more, but it's kind of fading instead. It did a lot and covered a lot. Interesting and a good read, especially if you have misgivings around our culture's true crime obsession... Though it was less interested in the morals and meaning of that than I expected. Maybe it spread itself too thin.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Eating disorder and Death of parent

blackeyedsuzi's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Death of parent, and Classism

alaina's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

A literary take on the true crime/thriller genre. Great scene setting. Believable whodunnit. Masterful integration of real events (me too, pandemic, politics)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Eating disorder and Racism

Minor: Terminal illness and Pandemic/Epidemic

hilmi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

2.5

To start with, let me admit that literary fiction isn't my wheelhouse and this was me stepping outside of the comfort zone. That said, I've got some opinions for you. The mystery and dark academia components were interesting (not the best I've seen for the latter) but some of the central themes are never truly fleshed out and it gets repetitive. Maybe it's a literary device for demonstrating the recurrence of sexual assault and a lack of justice? Or that trauma sticks and recurs? But it doesn't make a good read here. I did appreciate the emphasis on the imperfections of memory. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Rape, and Murder

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment