Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert

3 reviews

paulineerika's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

I love that Melissa Albert is not afraid to be dark. Her characters and her stories are not necessarily light and happy and even if the ending isn't bad, it doesn't mean it's a happily ever after. 

The Bad Ones is billed as a story about semi-toxic friendships and the thin line between reality and make-believe in children's games. It mostly lives up to that billing.  This book was hard for me to put down, even in the slower parts.   And while the ending is happy-ish, you still get the sense there's unfinished business or trauma that's not being dealt with. It's all still very much in the air.  

Nora and Becca are best friends, but the friendship doesn't seem particularly equal or even healthy at first. But as the story goes on, we learn more about what Becca has experienced and given her (implicit) already-somewhat fragile mental state, her susceptibility
to the goddess games and the "goddess" herself
is not surprising. 

What is surprising?
The fact that it wasn't Becca at all.
Or maybe I'm just slow.

I wasn't entirely clear on what happened to Becca's body while the goddess was possessing Nora or how Becca came back with such scarred lungs, etc.
I would have liked to read more about her and what she went through in her own POV, versus Nora's. 
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avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

    When 3 students and a teacher go missing one night, one of their best friends, Nora, and the mysterious boy James, get pulled into an old town myth, the Goddess Game.
    Well, I found the book partly predictable. I figured out what was up with the connection to the old game, or who was now in the story was connected to it pretty easily.
    There were some good parts, like the interesting twist as to why these particular people disappeared, and what exactly was going on with Becca being a bit harder to guess.
    I didn't like the "evil Goddess" thing. It's an anti-Pagan trope that rubs me the wrong way, even though I do not identify as Pagan.
    Overall, the book wasn't terrible, it was just a bit too anti-Pagan and predictable for me. Though at least it wasn't preachy it was more overall anti-religion.

Narrator Rating: 4 stars
   The narrator was excellent but not spectacular. Her voice can also be a bit annoying at certain points; it just depends on her tone.

Elemental Levels:  Heartfelt-3/5   Mystery-3/5     Predictability-3.5/5   Suspense-1/5   Tear- 2.5/5     Thrill-1/5 
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blacksphinx's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-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

This beautiful fantasy-tinged horror has changed my opinion about YA. This book has some of the most real and authentic teens I've seen in fiction. It took me right back through my own life, my own intense girlhood friendships, and the rituals of childhood I had almost forgotten. And it was a good story too!
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