Reviews tagging 'Child death'

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

274 reviews

marissasa's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This book was very entertaining and had some great twists. I always like when mystery stories sprinkle clues towards the true ending throughout, especially when they aren't obvious, and then when the reveal comes you remember the small details and see that the author did a great job of paving the path forward while you were already walking on it. This happened several times in my read through, and although some of the clues were obvious and stood out to me, the ones that weren't made for a great twist and ending that were satisfying. My biggest criticisms of this book are that the main character is named Pippa despite being American and that she is capable of so much more as a detective than she really should be considering she is a high schooler who has never done this before. After reading, I learned that this book was originally set in the UK as the author is British and that it was changed to America for the US publication, and my only thought was "wtf why?" It really didn't need to be changed in this way and I wouldn't have minded her name being Pippa as much (I still mind a little because I think it's an ugly name) if she was British in the edition I read. Overall it was a fun and entertaining read and I will be tuning in once the TV adaptation drops.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racism, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Child death, Drug use, Grief, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol

connie3110's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child death, and Animal death

meeklovestoread's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

Ever since I started reading again, I've seen this book everywhere, and after putting it off for so long I finally decided to give it a read, and my goodness, I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not really one to label books as "fast-paced", most books are medium to me, however, THIS BOOK was most definitely fast-paced; there was always something going on in every chapter (I really liked that). I also admire the amount of imagery and creativity in terms of format that the book provided. We got maps, a people of interest list, her capstone entries, her phone calls and emails with other people

lowkey wished we got to see the murder board

. Overall, I had a great time reading this book and as an avid adult thriller reader, I really liked it for the genre that it was in. But because I read a lot of thrillers, the ending/twists didn't shock me, but it was still a fun read nonetheless. 

I'm so glad Max got what he deserved in the end. But as for Naomi, I'm still a bit salty that she wasn't charged, but Cara is innocent, and ripping her last known family member away would be awful so I'm going to let it slide. Especially considering I know Naomi probably feels guilty enough, indirectly causing her best friend's death and all.

 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Blood, and Kidnapping

Minor: Child death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

lucyduller's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

If you’ve ever listened to the podcast Serial, you’ve kind of already read this book. If you’ve read the book but not listened to the podcast PLEASE DO LISTEN TO IT! It’s fantastically made and a true story! 

The premise is exactly the same; a teenager of colour has been accused of/jailed for murdering his girlfriend, and someone who believes this may not be true investigates the case. 

 

The difference is this book is fiction and tells the story of the investigator. 

I thought this book was a Young Adult, which I think it might actually be marketed as, but if that is so, I would encourage everyone to disregard that. This book is so accessible, gripping, and interesting. It doesn’t treat its reader like an idiot, there are some really challenging mental jumps it expects the reader to make. 

 

I also couldn’t have predicted the ending whatsoever, and I thought it was really great. Compared to Verity (review will be posted), the ending felt far more adult and complex, despite Verity being actually marketed towards adults! 

 

I was really scared at times, I’m not a big thriller reader, and this book tip-toed on that line for me, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. 

I think if more YA fiction was like this, more young people would want to read books, so Holly Jackson? Keep it UP!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Child death, Drug abuse, Murder, and Suicide

Minor: Vomit and Drug use

avidreader12345's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

littlebellacat's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Rape, Car accident, Murder, and Suicide

claire_leibovitz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Addiction, Murder, Cancer, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, and Death

Moderate: Suicide, Self harm, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Xenophobia, and Terminal illness

grace_reads13's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-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? N/A

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Body shaming, Car accident, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Murder, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Vomit

autumne0218's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Addiction, Bullying, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Confinement, Drug use, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicide, Murder, and Stalking

bibliophil_leah's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was very interesting and I could put ist down for the last few hours of the audiobook. The characters were really loveable. The suspense in this crime thriller was superb and I can't wait to read the next books in the series.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, and Grief

Moderate: Racism, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide

Minor: Self harm