Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Penance by Eliza Clark

25 reviews

thewoodlandbookshelf's review against another edition

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

4.25


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chl0reads's review against another edition

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dark 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? Yes

4.0


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brontesmovingbooks's review against another edition

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

5.0

Penance was a brutal book. 

It’s not for people with no stomach for violence. However I will say it refreshingly lacked a lot of on-screen gore or crime. Mostly it was descriptions. 

I found it a complex and deep dive into girlhood and it’s extremes. 
I also live strikingly close to and are a similar age to the fictional girls involved. So it really hit home. 
I too was a depressed teen girl on tumblr begging to fit in and never quite managing. 

 

I will say however high my rating  I did find one major flaw in the book for me personally. 
Joni. 

I still can’t decide if it was intentional by Clark or not. I believe it was based on the last section (the interview).  But I still don’t enjoy that we know more about the murderers than we do the victim. 
I believe this ties into the authors narrative around true crime and it’s community, but it was still disappointing. 



Overall wow. It was truly haunting. And I think it will stay with me for a very long time. 
I have never read such a scathing look of true crime and it was phenomenal.

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rebeccafarren's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0


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milesjmoran's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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