Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe

40 reviews

drlove2018's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Child abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

Minor: Gore, Alcoholism, Rape, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Murder, and Vomit

eule's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

Fesselnde Geschichte. Spannendes Beziehungskonzept der Hauptfiguren. Zwei der Hauptcharaktere sind in einer homosexuellen Beziehung. Das häufig nicht ernstgenommene Krankheitsbild der Endometriose wird thematisiert. Therapie wird NICHT als Tabuthema behandelt.

Etwas zu viel Trauma (für meinen Geschmack) im Bezug auf die Charaktere. Außerdem schien die Handlung manchmal entwas an den Haaren herbeigezogen.

Trotzdem ein lohnenswertes Buch mit viel Spannung, Mysterien und einem Fokus auf den Charaktern. Lässt sich sehr schnell innerhalb weniger Stunden und mit wenig Aufwand lesen.

Ps: Danke an meine liebe Freundin Thea, die mir dieses Buch ans Herz gelegt hat. Hab dich lieb <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Addiction, Blood, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, and Toxic relationship

tigger89's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

Told in a series of short, punchy chapters, alternating between the present day and flashbacks to Nora's early life, this story races along, leaping from plan to plan as the situation develops. To be clear, this book is a power fantasy, throwing realism aside to deliver a story of abuse, manipulation, and the ability to find the strength to stand up for yourself when there's nobody coming to save you. This isn't a bad thing, but it's good to set expectations going in.

The exploration of Nora's identities was very well done. While the younger two had few details, I feel that I really got to know Haley, Katie and Ashley. The trauma incurred and their responses to it were the most realistic part of the book, to the point where I suggest checking content warnings before reading. Additionally, I really liked the dynamic between Nora, Iris and Wes, especially how Iris stepped into the role of Nora's accomplice. It's always nice to see explicitly bisexual characters, and here we've got two of them!

I wasn't so much a fan of how the past was revealed. It skipped around, teasing without telling, and I sometimes wasn't sure when or who I was. There were also a few mysteries teased but never delivered upon, such as the forest fire. It was made out to be a whole big thing, but we never saw the moment go down, and were left to piece together what might have happened from what came before and after. That seemed odd to me, given that it was such a pivotal moment in the Nora-Wes-Iris drama.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Bullying

Minor: Pregnancy and Abortion

rinku's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

The Girls I’ve Been combined many typical elements of YA fiction in such an interesting and engaging way that I haven’t seen before. I wish I could give five stars but apparently, I’m very critical at the moment with giving books five-star ratings and always find something why I won’t give them this rating. 

Without spoilers, I can’t say a lot about the plot but this much: In the past, Nora has lived with her abusive and criminal mother from whom she was able to flee when she was a teenager. Now, in the present, she just wants to pay in some money with her friends when a bank robbery happens, confronting her with her past and giving her chance to put it behind her. 

What this novel did especially well was the combination of coming-of-age elements with the mystery/crime aspect of the story. The coming-of-age story is quite dark and serious which I didn’t expect but which was still greatly done. When looking at the mystery front, it was so clever how the characters slowly gathered pieces of information and things that could help them. The plans they had were just so creative and fun.  The ending was great as well but what I didn’t like about it was the fact that

the robbery wasn’t connected to Nora’s past at all. I think it would’ve been even more interesting if this had been the case

. 

Throughout the whole novel, there was a great feeling of tension. This tension was mainly created through the short chapters and the mixing of the past and present storyline which was executed so well. In general, I enjoyed the writing style, and there were so many sentences I just had to (virtually) underline since they were so great. 

Looking at the characters, I generally liked them and found them interesting, even though there was a bit too much telling around them at the beginning. I especially loved to see the relationship between Nora and Iris which was just so cute. Talking about Nora, it’s so empowering to see how tough she has become after the abuse she had to endure. It was also so amazing to see how she

was able to free herself from her mom in the end

. 

All in all, The Girls I’ve Been was a great read with great characters and storytelling. I would love to read more from this universe or from the characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, and Violence

Moderate: Abortion, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Rape

onion's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Murder, and Medical content

Moderate: Misogyny, Stalking, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Abortion, and Alcohol

jazminnnnnnn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Rape, Vomit, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Abortion, Blood, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexual assault, and Violence

debussy's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful tense fast-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

4.5

The Girls I've Been is immersive and burns rubber the entire ride, which makes it a quick read. I enjoyed nearly everything about it, especially how much deeper the plot became outside of the surface level bank robbery. That said, I found some of the flashback scenes a bit hard to buy given the age of the main character is always referenced but never quite feels true-to-age for these sections. Granted, Nora is forced to grow up fast, but I still had a hard time suspending my disbelief. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Blood and Sexual assault

Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy

elizabethchant's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse

Moderate: Pedophilia

Minor: Pregnancy, Drug use, Abortion, Vomit, and Addiction

holliesatchell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Cursing

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Medical content, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Vomit

goddaniiit's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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

5.0

Sometimes, you just KNOW a book is going to be worth 5 stars right off the bat. That's how I felt as soon as I started my book annotation journey with this book in particular. I went insane not just with the witty narration style but also with the amount of details showcased at the start of every chapter. The Flashbacks might've been a problem to others but, maybe this is on me being an anime viewer, I found that it was shown to the reader/s at the perfect time. It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat as I tried to guess how they were going to get out of the situations they were in whilst getting a better understanding of what each individual 'girls' thought process is like.

I'm also a sucker for the found family troupe. So, seeing Nora and Wes banter all throughout was very enjoyable to read about. As I also like some angst sprinkled along, the aftermath of their break-up was handled really well especially with how great of a middle-man Wes played during Truth for Truth between Nora and Iris. Speaking of Iris, Her chaotic energy truly brings me life.

As curious as I am for a sequel (since the resolution made it seem like that was a possibility and I would love to see more of Lee if I'm being honest), I also wouldn't mind if it just stayed as a standalone. It works either way - as the reader sees how far Nora has grown as a character when comes to a conclusion about her identity and how her trauma doesn't define who she is.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, and Gun violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Murder, and Death

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Abortion, Alcoholism, and Panic attacks/disorders