Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter

14 reviews

rsagarin's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Rape, Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Body shaming, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Addiction, Mental illness, Murder, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, Homophobia, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

lindsaysofia_25's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I picked this up because I wanted to return to my roots and read a mass market paperback thriller in a single evening before returning to university. This novel was not at all what I expected, in the best way possible. It had all the hallmarks that make me love this kind of thriller--suspense, revelations of connections between characters and cases, and ever-satisfying narration of the main character piecing together the solution--but it was bigger than that. The central mystery meant something, and I could feel that it meant something to the author too. Throughout the novel, Slaughter examined the violent misogyny that led to the disaster, while exploring characters who refuse to be classified as wholly good or evil. I am shocked that a novel could so effectively communicate the horrors of patriarchy while also being a triumph of the thriller genre. 

The chapters from Emily Vaughn's perspective offered a fascinating window into the mind of a teenager faced with incredible trauma and her manipulation by her group of "friends" and their charismatic leader. The dynamics of the group reminded me of The Secret History, with their performative intellectualism, enjoyment of psychedelics, and sexual tensions, but the murder of a member of the group much more tragic. I was struck by Slaughter's ability to make Emily's perspective seem so childish. The writing style felt adolescent, her gullibility and innocence as she processed what had happened to her was palpable, and the way she went about investigating it for herself was markedly childish. Emily seems like a kid trying to act like an adult as she emulates what she knows about how an investigation works, which is masterfully juxtaposed against the present-day investigation executed by the actual trained professionals. 

As I read, I found myself grasping at straws, searching for characters I could latch on to as trusted allies of Andrea and Emily, but no one was safe. Yet, it was also hard to completely villainize most characters because of Slaughter's insistence on depicting their moments of kindness and the gender and class dynamics that drove many of their actions. This genre tends to depict good and evil more dichotomously than other adult genres, and even where the lines blur, authors often write such a character as having two sides. Instead, Slaughter forces readers to recognize that the best and worst qualities of a person are deeply interconnected, and often both spring from the same roots.

A major example of this is the depiction of Jack Stilton in the two timelines. He is Emily Vaughn's only ally and has his own major issues as a gay man in a town like Longbill, but he is also an alcoholic, a misogynist, and a pretty shitty cop. In the scene where he shoots Nardo, he is flawed but the inescapable truth is that he is a grieving man doing one last thing for someone he loved deeply. In hindsight, building him up as a typical god-awful small town cop in Andrea's perspective before showing the purity of his friendship and love for Emily was a fantastic choice and excellently executed.

Returning to a point I mentioned in the first paragraph, a central theme of the novel is the patriarchal roots of the crimes committed against Emily Vaughn. Throughout the novel, Slaughter depicts many relationship dynamics inarguably shaped by gender and class relations, but the most obvious social commentary is the way the male characters talk to and about women. With the singular exception of Bible, the men in the story span a range of political opinions but are united by their violent misogyny. At many points in the story, we see characters like Clay speak of revolution and degrade women in the same breath. They are ideologically opposed to hierarchy, except in their desire to be worshipped by women. 

I have so many more thoughts about this novel but they are more well-suited to an essay than a review, so I'll end my comments here. My final note is that if you're going to read it, you should check content warnings because it deals explicitly with very heavy topics. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Medical trauma

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcoholism

miriyumi's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? N/A

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Blood, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Murder, and Eating disorder

jesshart8's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Murder, Pregnancy, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Rape, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Misogyny

miranda_is_reading's review against another edition

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

4.25

Second book in the series, but you don’t need to read the first book to understand this one at all. The author left the ending where it could be possible for more to come (fingers crossed) but, this could also easily be an end to the Andrea Oliver story as well. I like the alternating of going from current day to the past. I was really trying to solve it it sooner than I did. But, the story kept me on my toes with enough “twist” to keep you guessing the solution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Violence, Vomit, Child death, Death, Blood, Self harm, and Suicide

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Dementia, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Rape, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Homophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, and Torture

Minor: Abortion, Bullying, Body shaming, Cancer, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Sexism, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Slavery, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Addiction, and Suicidal thoughts

blueyogi's review

adventurous dark sad 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Violence, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Bullying, Death, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual violence, Homophobia, Suicide, Slavery, Sexism, Eating disorder, Rape, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Sexual content, and Outing

Minor: Abortion, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Cancer, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Pedophilia

margaret721's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Pregnancy, Death, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Outing, Misogyny, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Child death

akshade's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Rape, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Eating disorder, Drug use, Body shaming, and Alcoholism

shesheshelby's review

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.75

Not a fan. Too many unimportant details. The story was confusing to follow - maybe it would have helped to read the first book? Also, most of the characters are unlikable.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Cursing, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Abortion, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Alcohol, Outing, Homophobia, Gun violence, Vomit, Violence, Toxic friendship, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Child death, Rape, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Cancer

laurenkimoto's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Sexism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Self harm, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Pregnancy, Rape, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Murder, Racism, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gun violence, and Pedophilia