Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

54 reviews

catie_vl's review

hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I really loved this book, I found it so thought provoking and important. I am someone who enjoys true crime and had an interest in The Defendant, so getting to hear that story from the women’s perspective was so eye opening. I thought that there were some problems with the plot in the sense that the author had too many good ideas and it got a bit jumbled, but I really I thought it was an important read and have already recommended it to a lot of people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Murder

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, and Stalking

paeten_'s review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I love that this book never shares The Defendant's name. So often, books are written almost worshipping serial killers. Making them out to be much more intelligent, good looking, cunning, etc. than they really are while their victims are made out to be weak and unable to protect themselves. It's very refreshing to read a book that does the opposite! He's not that smart, not that handsome, and not that charismatic. He was just a bad man who made it his life purpose to hurt women and girls.

That being said, I wish the survivors and families of the victims had been given a voice, rather than fictionalized versions of them. Would be 5 stars if they had been included!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture and Stalking

Minor: Eating disorder, Pedophilia, and Kidnapping

ryleee's review

dark inspiring reflective 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder, Misogyny, Blood, Medical content, and Kidnapping

Minor: Classism

_meganrose's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Men and their fragile egos are an absolute disgrace. The actions. The inactions. The manipulation. The willingness to be manipulated. An absolute disgrace and I hope that everyone who played a role in the holes that enabled such a horrible human to do what he did live/lived the rest of their lives with a never-ending pit of shame consuming them. That, of course, would take having enough emotional intelligence and humility to recognize their mistakes. But I digress.

I respect that the author refused to use his name. Because quite frankly, it has always bothered me how he has been romanticized and portrayed in media. Only recently have I started to hear criticism on this, which means we are at least moving in the forward direction as a society (I hope).

4 stars because the perspective was refreshing, the belittlement of such a despicable human being was well overdue being warranted, and I couldn’t put it down.

That being said, it wasn’t an enjoyable reading experience so I don’t feel right giving 5 stars. This is no fault to the author. The darkness of this book was heavy and will haunt me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Sexual assault, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

nobat11's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, and Lesbophobia

elisecesmat's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Murder

jamiemamie's review

4.0

 Bright Young Women follows two characters in different timelines: Pamela, a sorority house manager who wakes up to find that an intruder has brutalized her sisters, and Ruth, a woman who goes missing without a trace. This book makes a point of not naming the man who committed the murders, but it’s a historical fiction about a very well-known serial killer.

Overall, I enjoyed this book (as much as one can enjoy a book about women being victimized) and found it simultaneously empowering and unsettling. Please be aware of the content warnings before going into this book. It’s definitely not a light read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Stalking and Alcohol

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

carolbagsbooks's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

I liked the feminist approach of this book in regards to how male serial killers are often portrayed in the media. This book was a good page turner that kept the reader on their toes. I enjoyed this fresh perspective.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

wimzie's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Murder, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Stalking