Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Penance by Eliza Clark

56 reviews

bellsdixon's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Child death, Violence, Bullying, Hate crime, Murder, Torture, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Classism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Death, Alcohol, Blood, Vomit, Drug abuse, Addiction, Misogyny, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Ableism, Lesbophobia, Suicide, Racism, Biphobia, Homophobia, Rape, and Suicide attempt

a_dja's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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? Yes

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Gore, Violence, Death, Pedophilia, Grief, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Biphobia, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Fatphobia, Torture, Addiction, Child death, Mental illness, and Mass/school shootings

caroisreading's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

4.5

Eliza Clark is masterful at storytelling and character/world-building. She has laid out the entire plot in the first few pages, yet you're left intrigued and increasingly absorbed as the book moves on. 

"Penance" focuses on the perspectives of four teen girls, schoolmates at a small coastal town in England. They are, at varying degrees, involved in the gruesome demise of Joni, a fellow student in their class. 

The layer on top of this plot is that we are reading the POV of a fictional author who has interviewed the characters and researched Joni's case. He's an unreliable narrator to say the least. It's Inception-y, and lets us sit at a distance from the horror, like a sobering buffer. 

With this in mind, Clark plays with our sense of what is real and what is not. I found myself Googling events that were completely fictional, though there are references to real platforms, psychopaths, books and a school shooting. This disorients you as a reader, and mimics the delusion and untruthiness taking place with the characters, and true crime in general.

What definitely feels real are the Tumblr posts, and the fangirls who idolize and fictionalize mass murderers. Clark spends a lot of time illustrating this world, and we sit in the discomfort for a while. It's a paradoxically naive and dark place. 

I should add, the author purposefully avoids going into specifics of what these characters physically do to Joni

beyond setting fire

. You can assume you will fill in the details yourself, which is a wild realization.

After assessing the TWs, I recommend this book as dark, brutal, engaging read with the most well-crafted characters I've ever come across. Keep reminding yourself it's fiction, but not really.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mass/school shootings, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Eating disorder, Incest, Death of parent, Homophobia, Gore, Rape, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Vomit

arayo's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Murder, Child death, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Child abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Biphobia, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Racism, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Kidnapping

Minor: Xenophobia, Cursing, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Body shaming, and Animal cruelty

cadence99's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.5

What a VISCERAL experience of a book as a woman who grew up online in the 2010’s- this has so many elements that made it a perfect read for me: the most unreliable narrator, niche tumblr cringe, and true crime community critique. This is definitely a unique experience of a book that I wouldn’t recommend to just anyone BUT it worked SO well for me

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Body horror, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Homophobia, Alcohol, Torture, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Body shaming, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Lesbophobia, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Xenophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, and Police brutality

sophie______a's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Torture, Body shaming, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Lesbophobia, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Sexual content, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Physical abuse, Grief, Self harm, and Classism

naturally's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Bullying, Homophobia, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Racism, Alcohol, Drug use, and Pedophilia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit

whoisrois's review against another edition

challenging dark funny sad tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

books written for me specifically 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence

Moderate: Medical content, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Ableism, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcohol, Racism, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Islamophobia, Medical content, Rape, Fatphobia, Classism, and Medical trauma

carbs666's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.25

I really like a book that bends the concept of truth and this book does an excellent job with that! The "true" account of a functional murder written by a scummy ex-journalist, the central narrative of the brutal murder of a high school girl by her classmates is bookended by fictional publishers notes and news articles describing how the narrator may have made it all - or most of it - up. There's a lot going on in this book and Clark does a great job if mimicking the narrative non-fiction true crim writing style, which occasionally meanders into historical sidebars that aren't totally relevant but add a lot of colour. Clark also display such a keen and detailed understanding of the experience of being a teenage girl throughout this book - the romantic answer sexual fumbling, the reversals of fortune, all of it. Strongly recommend if you like true crime or stories about people with questionable morals.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Child death

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Alcohol

laran_s's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Torture, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Vomit, Suicide, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Ableism, and Classism