Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

If You Tell by Gregg Olsen

21 reviews

mjd001's review

this book talks about abuse is so many forms. Very disturbing and should have trigger warnings on the cover.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, Body shaming, Abandonment, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, and Torture

nuuamuikkunen's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

2.75

Tykkään siitä miten Gregg Olsen kirjottaa tositapahtumista kuin ne ois fiktiota. Mutta se misogynian ja fat shaming oli ihan överiä tässä kirjassa! Et naiset haluaa vaan olla äitejä ja jos lihot 10 kiloa oot ihan kamalan läski. Yök.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Torture, Slavery, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Murder, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Confinement, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Death, Gore, Domestic abuse, Child death, and Bullying

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Animal cruelty

Minor: Medical content, Terminal illness, and Cancer

maddness22's review

dark sad fast-paced

0.25

I do not respect this book in the slightest. It's an attempt to capitalize on one family's horrible tragedy during the height of the true crime fascination. This is poorly written without any substance to the cruelty it outlines. There's no additional psychological insight into the mother's sadistic nature, no actual mention of the "bonds of sisterhood" until the final 10% of the book and even then it's a rather weak grab, and the timeline of events is written in the worst and most confusing manner. This was literally just composed for shock value and really only lists the acts of crimes committed by the narcissistic and sadistic mother and her pathetic husband. 

If it was meant as a warning for Shelly's release or even as a toolkit for others to recognize how severe abuse can be so subtle in its nature to integrate so fully in a victim's life, the message could've been conveyed with about 200 less pages and repetitive drawn out torture scenes. However, these lessons are barely conveyed successfully anyways. The writing is vague, confusing, and the author truly uses the word "niggled" un-ironically at one point. Like? Seriously? That's not even a real word and it sounds childish at best. 

Skip this shock value torture nonsense. Just know their mother was vile and we need to believe in victims. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

serenaann's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Abandonment, Child death, Sexual violence, Violence, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Murder, Sexual harassment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Vomit, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Addiction, Cursing, Excrement, Medical trauma, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Gun violence

artzea's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

A dark, true story that is as disturbing as it is horrible. Not my usual read, but I couldn’t put the book down once I started it.

The story was told in an easy and comprehensive way, with only a few issues: A jumpy timeline and certain slow/non-important parts.

A good read, but beware the tragic events this book contains.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Grief, Physical abuse, Torture, Death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Violence, Abandonment, and Blood

spookysierra's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Death of parent, Animal death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Blood, Vomit, Alcohol, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Gaslighting, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Addiction, and Violence

carax561's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Sexual violence, Torture, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

reneeschauer's review

challenging dark sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Gaslighting, Cancer, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

ohyeahshebomb's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Abandonment, Violence, Addiction, Excrement, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Torture, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Vomit, Medical trauma, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

erikathomas998's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Child abuse, Abandonment, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Confinement, and Death