Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

47 reviews

decie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

honestly a little bit offended nobody told me about this book. dark academia that isn't pretentious? contemporary and historical storylines that are beautifully woven together? a witty, self-aware narrator? sapphic characters EVERYWHERE in a book clearly written FOR sapphics? yes pls. it's sharp, fast, and kept me up at night. so. fucking. good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Grief, Murder, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Hate crime, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, and Pregnancy

momster2010's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

I enjoyed this book once the pace started to pick up after the first quarter or so. However some of the main characters just weren't likeable at any point in the book to me. While they did redeem themselves somewhat more could have been done to sell that. It could have had a more solidified ending. Also a bit more mystery would not have hurt anyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

pineneedles's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, Suicide, and Vomit

Minor: Forced institutionalization

jacemchale's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

I really didn't expect to enjoy this book so much when I started it but now I think a piece of me will hold onto the story and all of it's characters.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Dementia, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

sm_moon's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Homophobia

Moderate: Rape, Forced institutionalization, and Lesbophobia

lisa_m's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This book was unlike anything I have read before. I was bored sometimes and sometimes I didn't know what exactly the author was trying to do but all in all I did really enjoy it. I think if you want to read this book you have to like the creepy vibes it has. It is not a horror of creepy book at all but it does have a few creepy aspects throughout the book. It is creepy but also just a lot of talking and descriptions of film production, meetings and just day to day activities.. 

I think the only way to enjoy this book is to just take the time and not expect anything to happen. It will take you on a ride through different times, perspectives, stories and deaths.

This book was definitely weird. In a good way but still quite strange..

And also suuuper queer! Like pretty much every important character was a queer woman. I enjoyed that but it got to a point where it was a bit ridiculous (but also it fitted into the story perfectly and made total sense)

My favourite thing about this book is the formatting. I love the different fonts and especially the footnotes! (I love to see footnotes in books)
Also the illustrations are amazing! The yellow jackets were so cool and gave the book that extra something.

The narration was interesting but I did really enjoy it. It felt like a weird friend writing down a story for you and also like some Jane Austen esc writing. 

My biggest problem was the length of the book. Especially in the middle it got quite boring and I wanted to quit a couple of times. Also the ending confused me. I mean it is a kind of open end and you can keep thinking about it which is cool..?
I don't think the book could have been shorter and still be the same. The whole feeling came from the whole mixture of it all. Still I get that this is definitely not for everyone.

There are also so many different perspectives. There are quite a lot of jumps between time and people. Also it's kind of about a movie about a book about a legend about a book.

I would say reading this is definitely an experience - and one you have to want. If you want to read a very sapphic book that is also a bit spooky and has some great illustrations: this is the book for you. Be warned though as it is very slow paced and it has a LOT of unanswered questions at the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

franklola's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Minor: Gore, Sexual assault, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

kathleencoughlin's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

This books is very long snd yet it feels like not much happened. I thought the different narrative threads were hard to follow and the ending was unclear. The second-person narration ended up being kind of confusing and condescending at times. Of course I appreciate sapphic MCs buy that just wasn't enough for me here

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, and Car accident

rachelreadsrelentlessly's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

 I loved this book so much!

Oftentimes when I read negative reviews of books that I loved, I can often see where the reviewer is coming from and Plain Bad Heroines is no exception. A lot of people's main gripe is that this novel is slow. And it is. It's incredibly slow. But it is also strongly character-driven and I love that in books. As I was reading Plain Bad Heroines, I felt like I understood every character's fear and motivation. Danforth brings her characters to life and I felt everything our heroines did. When they were stressed, so was I. When they were scared, so was I. This connection to the heroines is what made this book work.

I also loved how atmospheric this book is. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's scary, but it's definitely spooky. Danforth did an incredible job of keeping the tension throughout Plain Bad Heroines. Her skill is not in jump scares, but instead in small, slightly eerie moments that have you questioning reality. I will say, if you have a fear of bees, yellow jackets specifically, maybe steer clear of this book.

Overall, I loved this novel. It's the first book of the year where I really felt truly in love with it. Please stop what you're doing and go read this ASAP! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Forced institutionalization

lucyrosemack's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

this book was so fun to read! i looked forward to picking it up every day and i would give play by plays to friends about what was going on in the story. i love the characters, was genuinely creeped out several times, and i wish i could go back and read it all again right now for the first time. im glad i had a pen to take notes as i read because there were so many moments i would have to turn back to, adjust my point of view, etc., and my book is full of (mostly false) predictions for the plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Minor: Gore, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Car accident