Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

18 reviews

thewordapothecary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Mostly I’m just confused. Why the hell did I just read an entire book to basically have no closure for the main plot. There’s unnecessary trauma included in the book that totally could’ve been left out. Elle is the unluckiest character, and I know that bad things happen to lots of people… but her life was one bad thing after the other. She’s a bad person. The one good thing that’s ever happened in her life and she acts like she could easily give it up. The only thing saving this book from a one star is the last handful of chapters and even that is a stretch. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Cancer, Sexual violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Incest, Violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, and Rape

abi_sarah's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

<spoilers in this review> 

Overall I enjoyed this book for it’s immersive nature, the descriptions of the settings made it so easy to escape to the seaside with Elle and her family and follow her story intently. 

However, it took me a while to read because I wasn’t gripped by it, I was intrigued but not gripped. The urge to pick up the book was only there to carry on reading - for the escapism, not because I absolutely had to know what happened next. 

This book reminded me of the familial dramas of ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ by Celeste Ng. I am coming to realise that I really enjoy novels with imperfect families, reading about how they communicate during times of conflict and what circumstances can push familial ties to breaking point. 

Miranda Cowley Heller writes excellently about the truly awful realities of rape. Including that the perpetrator is nearly always someone the victim knows, and what’s worse - someone the victim knows well. This circumstance makes the aftermath for the victim all the more difficult to deal with. Heller describes Elle’s trauma and the way she deals with it in the most matter of fact, yet sympathetic way. Some parts of this book were honestly extremely hard to read, it all just felt so real, so painful. As the reader, I developed so much sympathy for Elle. 

When Elle finally tells her mother who the real perpetrator of her rape was, you can literally feel her release of breath through the pages. You feel her shoulders relax and her brow flatten. 

I would have given this 5 stars, but there were parts where I just wasn’t fussed one way or the other if I picked it back up to read. So it’s a 4 star for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, and Death

Moderate: Incest, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Grief, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Dementia and Body shaming

talyahonor23's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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

3.0

While I enjoyed the reading this book and the writing style, I hated every single character.  Why did shegave to go into so much deatil with the child abuse? Even the adult sex scenes were either violent or too explicit.  And Why was everyone so rich and so beautiful? The only one who is considered neither is poor Gina. There was also a lot of sexual violence against most females characters as well as everyone leading very shitty lives. Was no one allowed ro be happy for real? I hate cheaters but I was intrigued by their story. The author is a little dated...using butter on a burn has been considered an old wives tale for years. Her obsession with meat and dairy is also a little out of touch. But it was an easy and interesting read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Body shaming, Child death, Incest, Medical trauma, Grief, Rape, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

daniela_is_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark sad

• Loveable characters? No

3.25

Please read trigger warning before picking this book up.

There's a theme of sexual abuse throughout the book, and it's quite confronting. What fell short for me is my inability to actually like any of the characters, which is upsetting. Nevertheless, i still didn't mind the read, I just felt frustrated. And....., maybe that's the point. It's complex.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Child abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, and Abandonment

lbh_0327's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Death, Sexual content, Incest, and Sexual violence

Minor: Terminal illness, Cancer, Vomit, Alcohol, Body shaming, Drug use, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

skibbonboulash's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

Let’s make the main characters childhood as traumatizing as possible then have a climax that is meaningless because you’re numb to trauma by then and then finish off with an underwhelming resolution and conclusion. You can tell the author writes for HBO (not a compliment)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Infertility, Death of parent, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Cancer, Bullying, Body shaming, Rape, Child abuse, Stalking, Sexual content, Murder, Classism, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, and Suicide

bethaniethebeast's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Miranda Cowley Heller is an excellent writer, but sometimes this book was "prose-y" to the point of reminding me that I'm reading a book. I don't like the characters but I understand them and relate to them. This book does an excellent job of exploring generational trauma, but I have to say HUGE trigger warning for child abuse and SA, that fully caught me off guard. Overall was an interesting read and I recommend it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Rape, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Death of parent, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Child death, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

lindsayhotrod's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Infidelity, Incest, and Grief

Moderate: Cancer, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Child death, and Classism

Minor: Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Dementia, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, and Body shaming

taynicole2698's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This book is intense, but it’s real. It doesnt feel like fiction. I didn’t love the way she ended it, but I get it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Body shaming, and Bullying

dckathleen's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

This book was frustrating and should come with major content warnings. It's billed as the story of a hook up between old friends who are married to other people.

Although that does happen, the story also includes repeated and detailed descriptions of child abuse and rape. There's also a dead child. 

There's only one likable character, and honestly, he doesn't save it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Rape, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Cancer, Child abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Body shaming