Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Penance by Eliza Clark

199 reviews

cadence99's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.5

What a VISCERAL experience of a book as a woman who grew up online in the 2010’s- this has so many elements that made it a perfect read for me: the most unreliable narrator, niche tumblr cringe, and true crime community critique. This is definitely a unique experience of a book that I wouldn’t recommend to just anyone BUT it worked SO well for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Xenophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

grahammoore's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, and Rape

linnearegnell's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Drug use

lars702's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, and Torture

sophie______a's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

alexandramary's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Torture, Mass/school shootings, and Fire/Fire injury

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

 Penance is a wonderfully engaging, multilayered fictional true crime novel. It looks at the dark side of the internet - tumblr fandoms as echo chambers - and what can happen when relationships among teenage girls go bad. There' s a focus on class, and Clark has fun with the unreliable narrator trope and the exploitative aspects of the fascination with true crime. I enjoyed the multimedia aspects and the novel as a whole, although sometimes it felt a little long and overly detailed, something that could have been a deliberate, conscious choice. Be warned - the opening section is graphic and tough to read, but it is worth persevering. Great storytelling and thoroughly absorbing. I couldn't look away.
 

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Content Warnings

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

magicalgirlmel's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia

jessisamess's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.75

this book was a really interesting and relevant take on social media and fandom culture, which may be difficult for older generations to understand and perhaps why some critics have been slightly confused, but as somebody who has grown up in this era of tumblr and stan culture, i find this to have a nuanced take on it and the real-world impact of such a parasocial culture.  i think the unreliable narrator was done very well and i like how we get to see all the perspectives.

at times it does border on being almost too humanising and too excusing of the murder but i think that may be because of the unreliable narrator

the structure of this book is great as well, as we progress from victim to ringleader and kind of see all the perspectives. this is probably the best and most accurate depiction of social media in a book i have seen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture, Toxic relationship, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Bullying

em815ily's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail