Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Penance by Eliza Clark

53 reviews

katilein's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

rachelcoconut's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

aileron's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism

luciapoloni's review against another edition

dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent

coffeekitaab's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

braggsy's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

shelfofunread's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Torture, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Biphobia, Child abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Classism

geraldinerowe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I haven't read Boy Parts so this was my first taste of Eliza Clark's writing and I found it outstanding. The whole thing messes with your head as the vast majority of Penance is a fictional book written by a fictional author, but you're also aware from the beginning that this fictional book in this fictional world might not be entirely true. In all this, Eliza Clark manages to make adolescents' speech and writing styles not just understandable but compelling. I think the unreliable narrator is made a little too much of and is there to add an extra dimension to the book's criticism of True Crime, but it would have been less of a book without it. I'm off out to buy Boy Parts now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Classism

icarusandthesun's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

eliza clark is a bloody genius.
even though i'm not into true crime, not in the slightest actually, she was able to draw me in completely. this was a disturbing read, but also so much fun. from relatable sims 4 references to badly written school shooter fanfic, this had everything to properly entertain you.
 
it explored the depths of the internet and school life from the perspectives of a couple of very different people from very different backgrounds.
it was perfect. (but perhaps i'm also just a little biased because most of the references in this book just made so much sense to me as someone who used to spend - and still does - way too much time on the internet). an incredible read.

literally the only thing i didn't quite enjoy was the length and extensity. there were lots of chapters about the history of crow-on-sea and it was necessary, of course, and didn't feel like it was irrelevant at all, but personally, i just found that a little boring.

also, as i've mentioned before, i'm not really into true crime, so this was already a little bit of meh-territory you know.

but f- it, i still had a blast.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, and Death of parent

tillydaisym's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent