Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda

36 reviews

slawgreensss's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Mental illness, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Child death and Sexual assault

oliviapincin's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Chronic illness, Confinement, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Classism, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Child death, and Sexual harassment

fernandaptln's review against another edition

dark reflective tense 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Gore, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Torture, Body horror, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Incest, and Stalking

Minor: Animal death

kmacdo23's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This novel is a revelation, a scream trapped in the throat of a teenage girl, a rosary made of strangers' teeth. One that I would pray upon, with reverence. This is a lesson I would sit through again. This is a volcano errupting and there's nowhere you can go to escape. I was so unsettled. I was held so tenderly by this story.

Welcome to The White Age. Explore the horrors of teenage girlhood. The horrors of womanhood. This novel twists the relief of being recognized as the fucked up girl that you are with the religions of desire and violence. 

What would you do for someone you love as the other half of yourself,  the completion of you? Everything? Everything, and all the brutality that implies. 

What is a scary story, a monster, a fear, but something kept alive by the same unwitting people that fall victim to its effect. Come see what you could keep alive. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Blood, Mental illness, Body horror, Child death, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

alarara94's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Mental illness, Dementia, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Body horror, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Rape and Animal death

elisascrive's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

Found myself gnashing at the end without even realising. It always keeps you on the edge. Not a five-star read just because I thought the ending would be much more devastating. Still, the rest of the book is a masterpiece of language and flow. 

It is not an easy read though, very explicit with toxic relationships all over. Motherhood and "sisterhood" are extremely relevant to the whole story and plot, with graphic depictions scattered throughout the novel.   

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Body horror, Child abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Death

Minor: Alcohol

gia0203's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense 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

I need time to process this one. Dark reflection on womanhood and adolescence. The writing style was unique - perhaps not a style I prefer, but it was interesting, and  I appreciated it. Fascinating motifs and metaphors. Very Freudian. The relationship between the protagonists was the most interesting part. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Animal death, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Pedophilia, and Racism

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

2.5

The writing itself was good but the book felt too hinged on Freudian and pseudo intellectual points that while given the instability and irrationality of the character due to both traumas and age made sense, I think bogged down the book itself because I think it accidentally undermined any attempted theme 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Torture, Death of parent, Gun violence, Murder, and Rape

andrewhatesham's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

Darkly feverdream-like, yet horrifyingly real. This one is for the feral girls. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Sexual assault, Confinement, and Child abuse

Minor: Vomit, Murder, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, and Rape

rebeccafarren's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Physical abuse, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Body horror, Animal death, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Blood

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Sexual content