Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Penance by Eliza Clark

109 reviews

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

applejuiceinabox's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Murder, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Toxic friendship

tessa_specchio's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

woah 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Bullying, Torture, Death, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Homophobia, Gore, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Grief, Vomit, Classism, and Suicide

Minor: Alcoholism, Police brutality, Eating disorder, Racism, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

nialystic's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Bullying, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Child death, Toxic friendship, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Rape, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Torture, Classism, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Self harm, Stalking, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Sexual harassment, and Outing

florenceassetto's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.25

i really liked this one! part of me wishes it was not read during exam season but it is also the only thing that has kept me sane(ish) so i have to be thankful! the speculative aspect of the book in it's entirety is something i found really interesting and i REALLY enjoyed the messaging and commentary it does on the real world - i find it particularly interesting and especially well delivered. this is almost definitely a book that is going to haunt me for a while but for all the best reasons, most definitely a read i would recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship, Child death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcoholism, Suicide, and Vomit

jesskb's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A dark work of fiction modelled on true crime with a frankly crazy level of realism. This book reflects on some of the darkest aspects of human nature, what drives people to extreme acts of violence, the lingering traumas of primary and secondary school bullying and the other hidden traumas that accompany them, and the horrors of being "terminally online" in the unfiltered madness of the Tumblr era. 

Interesting if horrific, and unusual for its almost documentary style - which worked very well as an audiobook, with a true crime podcasty feel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

sophiaroesler's review against another edition

challenging dark tense

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Suicide

will_meringue's review against another edition

challenging dark

5.0

viscerally dragged me back to the experience of being 15/16 in 2016. I've never seen the unique horror of online fandom portrayed so well - dark and pathetic and funny and overwhelming. The frame narrative and multimedia aspects really dig into the tangle of truth and perspective and projection and entertainment - after all, was I not 'entertained' by 'Alec Z. Carelli's' fictional presentation of 'emotional truth'? Did I not laugh reading Dolly's cringey creeker fanfiction? Did I not feel like I shouldn't be reading the horrific description of Joni's death at the opening of the novel - and then read it anyway? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

Moderate: Pedophilia and Rape

whoisrois's review against another edition

challenging dark funny sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

books written for me specifically 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Medical content, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Ableism, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcohol, Racism, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Islamophobia, Medical content, Rape, Fatphobia, Classism, and Medical trauma

carbs666's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.25

I really like a book that bends the concept of truth and this book does an excellent job with that! The "true" account of a functional murder written by a scummy ex-journalist, the central narrative of the brutal murder of a high school girl by her classmates is bookended by fictional publishers notes and news articles describing how the narrator may have made it all - or most of it - up. There's a lot going on in this book and Clark does a great job if mimicking the narrative non-fiction true crim writing style, which occasionally meanders into historical sidebars that aren't totally relevant but add a lot of colour. Clark also display such a keen and detailed understanding of the experience of being a teenage girl throughout this book - the romantic answer sexual fumbling, the reversals of fortune, all of it. Strongly recommend if you like true crime or stories about people with questionable morals.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Child death

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Alcohol