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Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Initially the book focuses on how ‘strange’ Sally is. Her dad claims if she’d be diagnosed she’d likely be autistic, but he never wanted her to be diagnosed as she’s ‘just a little odd’ she’s not disabled (not an exact quote, but something along those lines). He also throws in some more stereotypes, about her not having empathy for instance. Gradually you realise Sally acts the way she does out of trauma, but many traits could be perceived as being autistic. She finds clothes itchy (although this suddenly isn’t an issue anymore later in this book?), has meltdowns over ‘minor’ things, and has a specific interest which helps her calm down. Initially you’re lead to believe Sally is ‘strange’ because she’s simply an autistic woman, but gradually you learn of her trauma. Autism therefore gets pushed to the background until gradually she’s just seen as a person working through her trauma. I therefore wish autism wasn’t brought up in this book at all. It served no purpose but instead reinforced stereotypes of autistic people. Lots of the ‘funnier’ scenes in this book are about Sally not understanding social cues, for instance. And it gives a sense that you can be cured if you just keep trying not to be. If autism hadn’t been mentioned at the start, Sally’s story would’ve made more sense to me.
So yeah, I ‘enjoyed’ the story, found the ending really satisfying as well actually and felt like it made sense for the characters. It was dark and gruesome, but some of the characters brought a ray of light with them which made it possible to keep reading. I just wish Sally’s character wouldn’t have been labelled as one way or another and that we could focus on her PTSD instead.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Police brutality, Suicide attempt
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Sally has lived a simple life, isolated even from the small Irish community her and her father live in, with Sally struggling to understand people and so avoiding them for the most part. When her father dies and she ‘puts him out with the rubbish’ as he had asked her to do, she finds herself first in trouble then an object of sympathy for the villagers and beyond.
At times humorous, at other times deeply disturbing, this was a very fast read with Sally’s character deeply nuanced and sympathetically written.
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Pregnancy
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent
Minor: Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Death of parent
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic