Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Girl Before: Sie war wie du. Und jetzt ist sie tot. by JP Delaney

6 reviews

born_reading's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual content, Mental illness, Abortion, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death, Child death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Cursing

khanyisile13's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

This was so nearly a five star book! So close! The writing is insanely clever, for one person to think up this story? Insanity. I don’t know what I expected going into it, but certainly not this. The story is really good at manipulating even the reader’s feelings. I was gobsmacked to find out the main twist. The dual timeline worked really well in the story’s favour, and I think the characters were believable.

I even think Emma’s dedication to victimhood is believable, even though it was the biggest plot twist that scrambled my brain for a good hour or so. It made me realize that it’s entirely possible for people to think this way, because they do. And often white women, like Emma, get away with it. Because it’s all just a game to them. Manipulation is a game they’re so good at winning. 

The reason it doesn’t get a five stars is because of its depictions of Black people. There are only two obviously Black people in this story, and they’re both stereotypes of what white people have typically expected from Black people. And I think that’s a shame. Then the second reason is that I understand that thrillers have a history of

pinning things on mental health disorders, and driving a fear of people experiencing mental illness, and I think that’s problematic.

I think it would be fine and dandy to just explain that these are terrible people. Because they are. Delaney didn’t have to add that aspect into it, or he could have found a way to add it in while still being cautious of what the reader will take away. He’s a talented writer and if he could think up THOSE twists,

he could easily find a way to make sure that the reader doesn’t find people with mental health disorders inherently dangerous.

Overall, a really excellently told twisty story. I read it in a weekend, which is insane because I’m a slow reader. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Murder, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, and Violence

lillyrose97's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

_mack_jack_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.25

it was out best by another review i saw: yet another book choosing to subvert expectations with a nonsensical twist instead of giving the plot and characters the follow-through they earned. this book was a page-turner but ultimately lackluster.

what i wanted from the book initially was to be shocked and to have my expectations subverted. as i learned more about the characters, i wanted to see the natural conclusion come about. i think the author focused on shock value over realism when coming up with plot points. the complexities of the characters, specifically the men, are unexplored to their fullest because the author takes them off course at random. the women are flawed and emotional humans, which is always good to see, but emma specifically is written to be almost a villain as the book progresses. at first it was a captivating twist, but again the path it took broke my suspension of disbelief. 

did i enjoy reading it? yes. would i recommend it? no.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Murder, Miscarriage, Eating disorder, Child death, Animal death, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Mental illness, and Medical trauma

stephvt22's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child death, Eating disorder, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Stalking

Minor: Abortion, Suicide, Murder, and Animal death

parttimerarebookdealer's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship