Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

64 reviews

lexcellent's review

dark emotional 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

kyra_613's review

dark emotional tense 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

it started off really slow but when it picked up it picked up FAST. for about the first third of the book i was having a really hard time liking the main character, but her she became MUCH more tolerable as the book went on in my opinion. the author's style of writing made for some really amazing metaphors and imagery most of the time, but there were points i needed to reread several times because the metaphors got a bit lost. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Homophobia

bellsdixon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Gun violence, Stalking, and Pregnancy

ellecam's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I fear this book might have ruined my reading goal for the rest of the year because nothing else will compare. Men are infuriating, the patriarchy is infuriating, true crime is normally infuriating but this approach truly turned the narrative on its head. A fictionalised feminist re-telling of the victims of the infamous “All American Sex Killer”, painting him as the pathetic incel he truly was, is something I never knew I needed to read. Until I read it. BRAVO.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Pedophilia and Religious bigotry

Minor: Incest and Dementia

cinnamonsweetpotatofries's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

stellahadz's review

dark slow-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? No

4.0

This book tells the story of several women whose lives were impacted by the crimes of an unnamed serial killer in the 1970s. It's a well-written, slow-burning story told from multiple points of view and in multiple timelines. It's not a mystery or a thriller, but rather an unraveling of events the reader learns about from the very beginning. I liked that the focus was not on the crimes, but rather on their impact, and the "complicated grief" they caused for Tina and Pamela.

My only complaint about the book is that it mixes reality with fiction in a way that I think undermines its purpose - it is extremely obviously based on Ted Bundy's serial murders. There's a mention of a true-crime movie starring Zac Efron, and some of Bundy's presumed real-life victims (Caryn Campbell and Georgeann Hawkins) are referred to by name. If the purpose of the book is to focus on the victims and not glorify the misogynist murderer, why base the story so obviously on what he did? The book was extremely well-written, and the story would have been equally as compelling if the author had changed certain details or avoided certain references so it wasn't basically a play-by-play retelling of Bundy's crimes. This was the same complaint I had about Eliza Clark's Penance, which I also read recently. I understand and appreciate the necessity of literature that criticizes the true-crime industry and the way victims of violent crimes are treated, but I sometimes wonder about the ethics of essentially fictionalizing horrific things that happened to real people. 

To Knoll's credit, it seems like she did speak with a survivor of Bundy's violence; putting aside the ethics of the basis for the book, it really is a powerfully written story with an important message. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Eating disorder

sbox's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Incest

ehoustonmyatt's review

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

reverendmix's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, and Murder

rex15's review

emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

An amazing book I do recommended to everyone (but do be conscious of sensitive material discussed). As a casual enjoyed of true crime this book is such a necessary read. It centralizes victims and demistifies serial killers that are often put in a pedestal. It very masterfully showcases the harm that society imposes unto victims and survivor  by expecting a perfect victim and speaks of the harm of these expectations. The pain, grief and humiliations created not only by what they have been through but also by the justice system and media. It also touches on more casual examples of misogyny and sexism that are equally as infuriating as they are validating to everyone that has experienced it. It is so easy to fall in love with these women and the prose makes it so you cheer for their wins and cry for everything else. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny

Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder