Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Penance by Eliza Clark

37 reviews

chronicacademia's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An incredible, uncomfortable, horrifying dissection of the true crime genre and its “fandoms.” A must read for anyone who consumes true crime. 

Adding a content warning for necrophilia as well as the content warnings listed below. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Incest, Lesbophobia, Mass/school shootings, and Medical content

sarah984's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

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

3.0

This book was fine, it captured the voices of the teens and (most of) the internet culture of the era really well, but I do think it fell into its own trap a bit in over focusing on the perpetrators without a lot of self awareness, and a few things about the internet culture of the time are inaccurate in a way that annoyed me (especially the assertion about ao3 because I think the truth actually adds to the book's point). The twist is so obvious from pretty much the beginning that the epilogue feels like a joke.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Classism, Gore, Body shaming, Vomit, Addiction, Alcohol, Kidnapping, and Medical content

Minor: Death of parent, Rape, Drug use, Racism, Eating disorder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abortion, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, and Confinement

velvet_young's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Classism, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

mattieallen's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Bullying, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Classism

americattt's review against another edition

dark 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

4.25

“Even short lives are complex and rich. Even dead children are full of contradictions and flaws and mysteries that will never be fully understood or solved. Even a writer as well versed in this genre as I could never create a perfect photograph of my subject. I could create a beautiful, accurate sketch of Joni, but a sketch from a skilled artist is still a sketch.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Classism and Racism

taliakdean's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Vomit, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Blood, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Incest, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Dysphoria, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical content, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, and Torture

Minor: Dementia, Body shaming, Racism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Ableism, Grief, Abortion, Miscarriage, Outing, and Pregnancy

thewoodlandbookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Torture, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Child death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Rape, Toxic friendship, Murder, Death, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Homophobia and Ableism

aileron's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Kidnapping, Bullying, Death, Child death, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Classism, Confinement, Racism, Self harm, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

lovelylilelle's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Toxic friendship, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Torture, Suicide, Body horror, Classism, Death, Drug use, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Addiction

gia0203's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

So engaging, so well-structured. At times I felt intimately connected to these characters. This has a lot to say about true crime as a genre - both as an exploitative, profit-led form of entertainment, but also as a source of comfort for young people. I found the narrator to be genuinely unsettling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Bullying, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Self harm, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mass/school shootings, Suicide, Violence, Body shaming, and Blood

Minor: Homophobia, Addiction, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, and Vomit