Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

98 reviews

bernie13's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-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? No

3.0

I’m not sure what tone I’m supposed to read this in. Like the way Mr Harvey is portrayed is confusing to me and the book is supposed to be from susie’s perspective but she doesn’t seem to be that disturbed by him? And why is she basically watching her family and friends have s*x?? I just found this book super weird and the end where she possesses Ruth and has s*x with Ray is so disturbing and weird. I don’t know what the author was thinking when she wrote this but I just feel like it could have gone in so many other directions. I found the tone to be off-putting and not what it should have been considering what the book is about. 

The way Susie’s POV is used is just weird like why is a 14 year old so interested in the s*x lives of her family and friends??

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Content Warnings

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

sarawildoosen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Kidnapping, Child death, Death, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, and Violence

serenityxnicole's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Beautiful book! As an oldest sister, this made me cry twice! The only complaint is I hate the ending, but overall a good read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Stalking

iridaceae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Child death, and Rape

nburkk's review

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, and Sexual assault

lydixmay's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

Extremely sad story with very vivid description of SA. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

pumpkinmasterug's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

Not the best novel I’ve read, but definitely not the worst. It presents grief through a range of perspectives and is definitely dark and uncomfortable at several points. I enjoyed majority of the book, however

the possession scene spoiled the tone of it all for me, especially since the argument for Susie sleeping with her crush instead of tracking down her killer is her reclaiming what was taken from her during her murder, but after she hopes her father dies to be in heaven with her TWICE she let’s her family suffer in grief when she could’ve caught her killer or unveiled the location of her body and helped them. Of course that would’ve been very cliche so I understand why Seabold avoided this, but it just made Susie come across very selfish and quite unlikeable.

It’s a bit corny in some places and I don’t think the writing style will suit everyone, and some of the characters are so flat and predictable they read more like AI trying to blend in than actual human beings, but I honestly didn’t mind that too much in this case. Overall though, it’s a good read with a hopeful message and I did enjoy it for the most part.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Kidnapping, Body horror, Gore, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Infidelity, Abandonment, and Cursing

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Mental illness, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Death of parent

snapcandle's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

deshanejt's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

The premise was dark, heartbreaking and sweet; The reality was, almost halfway thru the book, the plot seemed lost to me.

Painstakingly, you watch the family struggle to accept their grief while a community never stops moving forward. 

I guess the message the author wanted to leave us with would be life goes on. Remembering those you've lost along the way doesn't have to be painful... Lastly, it's a stark reminder, that justice isn't always served, but monsters still meet their end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual assault, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Stalking, Animal death, Gaslighting, Murder, Grief, Rape, Blood, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Pregnancy

becks444's review against another edition

dark sad tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, and Child death