Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

10 reviews

dodger's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Murder, Animal death, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Death, Child abuse, Gore, and Incest

dizzyizzyy's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Sexism, Violence, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Incest, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

kira20's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I was surprised how much this reminded me of classic Gothic novels, Jane eyre, wuthering heights, poe... that dark tension,  secrets everywhere and sexual desire. Definitely still shocking today.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Bullying, Child death, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Violence, Animal death, Car accident, Classism, Death of parent, Excrement, and Vomit

stars_and_stags's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I really enjoyed this book. I understand why it is controversial, but the main characters were making the best of a horrific situation. 

Generational trauma is a curse that plagues so many families. 

Overall, well written and very accurate to how teenagers would speak. I am glad I read it though parts were hard to get through. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Animal death, Death of parent, Blood, Grief, Incest, Confinement, Death, Abandonment, Child death, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, and Torture

mistyknights's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

 don't remember how old I was when I first read this, but it was too young to properly process the religious horror, physical/sexual/psychological abuse, misogyny, and whole lot of other trauma themes littered throughout the text. Add a poltergeist and a small town in Maine and this would be a Stephen King book. Not saying it was a mistake for me to read it as a pre-teen but I still would not jump up and offer it as an option to pre-teen as an adult woman.

That said, everything that made this a classic is still there. It's better written than I expected it to be, though it does meander in the middle and could have been 100 pages shorter

. Also, the incest is at times romanticized by the main character ( it's first person and intentionally mirrors her parent's experience) and shown as twisted because it is always manifested within violence and mental abuse.

But trigger warnings for that and for a brief moment of spontaneous racism just in case you forget this book was published in 1979.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Incest, Rape, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, and Toxic relationship

turpial23's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

1.0

Basically a narrative of many types of child abuse, in graphic detail. No actual plot, no character growth, not even exceptional writing - just misery and terror. Not apt for children. I would never recommend this series to anyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Rape

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This was a really interesting book to read and imagine young gals reading this years ago. Because god, is it intense. I was prepared for the incest, but not for the

assault </>, and I think it's really interesting to consider the author kind of excusing it and the time and ideas in which she was raised. I'm probably going to keep reading this book series, but def f Christopher. He can fall off a cliff.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Rape, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Classism, Incest, Child abuse, Confinement, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Cancer, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, Animal cruelty, Murder, Pregnancy, Animal death, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, and Self harm

plsmithca's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

A great read, but a dark one. Highly recommend if you've got the mental space to take on a difficult situation that borders on the unthinkable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Incest

Moderate: Death of parent

cwe115's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Physical abuse

ntfconnoisseur's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

2.75

I first read this in middle school & thought hey remember how horrible that book was. What if I reread it? 

While I morally can’t give this book a good rating, I had so much fun reading it. Look, it’s compelling and engaging. Horrible material for sure………… fun to observe. Probably going to finish the series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault