Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

20 reviews

anocturne's review

challenging dark inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Car accident, Death of parent, Outing, and Pandemic/Epidemic

sweetlilly93's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

5.0

Oh, this definitely passes the Bechdel test.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Dementia, and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting

Minor: Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Car accident

gabs_parr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny 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

5.0

This book, a fictionalized account from the survivor’s and victim’s perspectives, changes the zeitgeist of how we think and discuss Ted Bundy and similar serial killers. It is natural to have a fascination with these killers. This novel shifts our attention from the serial killer to the women affected by him. 

Every reference to how handsome, charming, cunning, or promising “The Defendant” was made me feel just as sick to my stomach as it has in real life when I’ve seen the same true remarks made about Bundy. This novel did not shy away from how hard women had to fight to be believed and how inadequate the media and law enforcement truly was when dealing with this case. Rather than admit to their wrong-doings, the authorities would rather spin a tale that Bundy was a mastermind of some kind, though his school records would indicate that he’s anything but… with this kind of misogyny and idiocy abound, it’s really a miracle he was ever convicted at all. In relation to the media portrayal, the character of Carl was really well done. He really showed that even amongst men who were supposed to be helpful friends, these women still faced an uphill battle of perception. 

I loved the way Knoll knitted the two main female character together using the Tina character. It was a brilliant throughline. And the side drama of Ruth wrestling with her sexuality and family life was an excellent addition to the story. Sexuality changed everything for Ruth. It was because of the rejection of her family and her fight with Tina about her family that she went to her father’s ceremony solo, thus ending up at the lake alone on that fateful day. Pamela was an extremely strong and lovable character. She is relatable, smart, confident, and incredibly brave. 

Something that I was really reminded of while reading this book is that women do not need to be nice to men. We do not owe men our time, our smiles, our attention, our help, nothing. If that makes us “bitches”, then so be it. It’s better to be an alive bitch than a dead nice lady. Ted Bundy was able to lure so many of his victims away because he made them feel bad for him and made them feel like they owed him help. They didn’t. 

This book is a must read for all fans of true crime, thrillers, or mysteries. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Murder, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Cursing, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping

hjb_128's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

uniquelymace's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

dishajetly_123's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Violence, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

openandhostile's review

dark emotional mysterious slow-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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Incest, Infidelity, and Lesbophobia

kjlewis494's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Lesbophobia

betag1013's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

herperfume's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Outside of a show like "I Survived," rarely are victims the center of true crime stories. And rarely do we follow them in the days, weeks, months, and years afterwards. We don't see how an event ripples through the immediate community of the victim. Bright Young Women does this. It also shines a light on why the families of some missing women don't report them as such. The fact that the author never uses the name of the perpetrator is a powerful move, even if it is obvious who it is supposed to be. Removing his name and focusing on the lives of the victims changes how we think of true crime and it's reporting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail