Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Lakewood by Megan Giddings

18 reviews

snazzy10101's review

challenging dark tense fast-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Addiction, Body horror, Cancer, Grief, Chronic illness, Blood, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Misogyny, Gun violence, Hate crime, Confinement, Gore, Rape, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Racism

calicodoll's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, and Body horror

haileyhardcover's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I think if there was ever going to be a book that gives me nightmares, it’s Lakewood. 

After losing her grandmother and struggling to care for her ailing mother and deal with mountains of debt, Lena accepts an offer to participate in a research study that seems too good to be true. It pays well, offers full coverage health insurance for her mother, and would set them up comfortably if she can just last a year. The studies claim to be changing the world, but the white scientists don’t seem to care much what happens to the Black test subjects along the way. Maybe not much has changed after all. 

I thought I knew what I was getting myself into reading Lakewood, but it was so much more and so much worse (in a good way) than I was expecting. It is shocking, it is horrifying, and worst of all, it feels entirely plausible. My jaw dropped, my heart raced, my head spun. This may not be labeled as horror, but it absolutely is, and it’s horror done WELL. Lakewood is going to sit with me for a long, long time. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Confinement, Physical abuse, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Stalking, Death of parent, Death, Dementia, Gore, Blood, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness

Minor: Alcohol and Trafficking

spineofthesaurus's review

tense

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Dysphoria, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Violence, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Racism, Self harm, Physical abuse, Torture, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Stalking, Abandonment, Murder, Classism, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Cancer, Drug abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Slavery, Vomit, Addiction, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Trafficking

Minor: Car accident, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

grvhppr's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Chronic illness, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Cancer, Racism, Blood, Body horror, and Torture

Minor: Slavery

helhas3letters's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Very readable. The plot hooked me completely and despite a few awkward turns of phrase, I raced through this one.
My main gripe, however, is that I felt the ending was rushed and left too open-ended. I wanted more concrete answers and explanations as to why half the events in the book occurred. I understand that a lot of modern fiction leaves things up to interpretation for the reader, but in this case it felt less 'up to interpretation' and more 'couldn't be bothered thinking of specific reasons why specific things happened'.
The ending was also unfortunately semi-spoiled for me by a way too on-the-nose and frankly reductive pull quote on the cover of the book. It was from Essence and read:

"Reminiscent of Jordan Peele's terrifying film Get Out."

If you've read the book, you'll know what I mean when I say that reading that quote essentially told me the entire ending.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Blood, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Death of parent, Medical content, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Cancer, Gore, Death, Colonisation, Torture, Racism, and Murder

Minor: Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Stalking, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

mraddd's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Torture, Racism, Physical abuse, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Mental illness, Chronic illness, and Murder

Minor: Grief

srhi96's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racism, and Torture

Moderate: Grief, Violence, Cancer, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Blood

Minor: Addiction, Vomit, and Excrement

lamorna's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Dementia, Confinement, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Grief

emmareadseverything's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This was one of the most terrifying books I’ve read in a while due to its believability. The plot was engaging and horrifying, and I did not have an issue with the ending like some readers did. 

I don’t have much to say other than that I am glad I read this book; I feel like it will stick with me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Racism, and Torture

Moderate: Body horror and Emotional abuse