Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

78 reviews

erinjeanette's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Death of parent

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

glitterghostreads's review

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit slow for me, but I was hooked. That is, until I realized the author simply took real life tragedy and repurposed it into a novel. It is one thing to take inspiration. It is another to use the exact stories of victims of unspeakable violence. I felt sick once I realized. Whatever message she wanted to share is ruined by the lack of respect for the real woman who were harmed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual violence, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol

martinjen98's review

dark emotional informative inspiring

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, and Lesbophobia

sierraclimbs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

I enjoyed this book. It’s a very unique take on a fairly well known story. I think the author did a good job representing the complexities of grief (this opinion is as someone who hasn’t experienced anything close to as tragic as this story). 
I did think the character voices were a little strange. Mostly Pamela seems very autism coded. Which is not a bad thing, but it made her actions a little less relatable. Again not a bad thing, but I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I could relate to the main character’s actions more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol

lazstearns's review

challenging dark emotional sad 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Kidnapping

Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, and Dysphoria

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

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

elizabeth_helmer's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Murder, 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