Reviews with content warning for Rape - A Nearly Normal Family

For me, it just felt like it took too long to actually get into the book. I persevered and read to the ene, although it was quite difficult to push through. Based in Sweden, we meet the Sandall family - Adam who is a pastor of a local church, Ulrika who is a lawyer and Stella, their teenage daughter, who is the prime suspect in the murder that has taken place. Stella and her bestfriend Amina, meet the victim in a club when he tells the girls a little white lie about his age. From here, both girls strike up relationships with the man, Stella being the first one to have a sexual relationship with the man. Only we begin to meet Linda as the book progresses, at first it's unknown who she is but it's soon revealed that Linda is actually an ex of Christopher (the victim). Linda stalks Stella and tries to make her aware of what Christopher is really like, although she does not believe her.
The book is written in 3 parts, Adam's story, Stella's story and Ulrika's story which are all based around the time of the murder as we read about how Stella's time in custody as she is accused of being the murderer - but did she do it? Her parents may also play a part in this story as they notice suspicious things around their house. Although, the more you read Ulrika's story, the more you discover that she wishes for her daughter, Stella, to be more like Amina.
I don't think I would read again if given the chance.

"It's even in the Bible: An eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth. Before Jesus fucked everything up with that part about turning the other cheek."

"For a psychopath, sex is all about power. In the beginning, the psychopath places all the focus on their partner during the act of sex. But psychopaths are drawn to excitement and variation. Soon he will want to spice up their sex life, often with activities that seem uncomfortable to the partner. The psychopath slowly pushes the partner's limits and in this way gains power over her. If the partner refuses to give in to his suggestions, he responds by making her feel guilty or threatening to find someone new."

Content Warnings

heybrownberry's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative 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

4.75

Content Warnings

rachel_saund's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

clacksee's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

2.75

There's a line in the book about a teenage girl who thinks she's in love with a man. But it isn't that. Not once you stop and analyse what's really happening. I'm paraphrasing, but you get the idea.

And honestly, that's not a million miles from how I felt about this book. On the one hand, I was utterly absorbed in the story. On the other, now that I've finished it, it feels like it was a hollow read.

Also, speaking of miles… The metric/imperial measurements in the translation are weird. Short distances are given in metric, but temperatures are given in imperial. What the hell? Like, I can figure out feet, but I have no clue what 104º means (nor do I care).

Anyways, I'm not sure I needed to read a cis man's take on the rape of teenage girls, actually.

CW: Brief but explicit description of rape told from the perspective of the victim. And then repeated references back to that scene.

Content Warnings