Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Circe by Madeline Miller

213 reviews

jennaniho's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

I knew I was going to like this book, but I didn’t know I was going to absolutely love it. Miller’s writing style and prose made it hard for me to put this book down, though I had to from time to time; some chapters were deeply emotional, triggering, and brutally honest. 

Being the eldest daughter, I felt an instant connection with Circe. Her unwavering resilience, the way she slowly embraced her inner fire and untamed spirit, her determination to persist in the face of adversity, her inevitable mistakes, her worries, her fears, and her love —all contribute to making Circe a heroine defined by herself. Also, anyone who is bold enough to stand up against the Olympian gods and the Titans on their own, will always have a special place in my heart. 

With Circe, Madeline Miller shows us that women have been their self-made heroes since the beginning of time, and it is our divine right and power to create our lives under our rules alone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Child abuse

Moderate: War, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Grief, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, and Hate crime

genstrong's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.75

Madeline Miller writes beautifully! I loved The Song of Achilles and that same poetic voice can be heard in Circe. However, I would say that the story is less dark and heartbreaking which made it a lighter read. I gets a bit tougher towards the end of the book but - as Miller is very skilled in doing - the ending is bitter sweet and leaves the reader hopeful. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in witchcraft, female historical/mythological figures, ancient religion and spirituality, and there is even a little lgbt representation in there (but only minor).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Bullying, Misogyny, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Rape

Minor: Pregnancy

maevesheehan's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Bullying, Death of parent, Animal death, and Grief

Moderate: Incest

ritte_e's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Sexism, Pregnancy, Body horror, and Sexual violence

ninasimone_vs's review against another edition

adventurous informative inspiring slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Gore

Minor: War and Sexual content

bel017's review

 CW for rape (but she had a reason to turns men to pigs, so what did you expect?). I know very little of Greek mythology, so the story was news to me. It was great to see a woman at the center of her own story, and that Miller didn't shy away from the difficult parts. There's a fierce kind of joy in the attempt to take ownership of her own life. Well written, intense and engaging. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Misogyny

Moderate: Infidelity, Bullying, Abandonment, Murder, Death, and Body horror

booksemmahasread's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Bullying, Child death, Drug use, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

miilk's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Rape, Confinement, Abandonment, Bullying, Death, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, and Pregnancy

thalia16's review

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Moderate: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Murder, War, Bullying, Grief, Pregnancy, and Rape

thaliareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

While this was an incredibly interesting read, I didn't enjoy it as much as The Song of Achilles. I think the issue I had was that it was more winding. It wove a much deeper and more complex story spanning a much wider history. Despite the equally high stakes, due to Circe's immortality, it somehow felt less high stakes than the mortality Achilles was working with. 

All that aside, especially for those who like Greek mythology, this was a really fun read and was a really interesting compilation of the life of and myths surrounding Circe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Bullying

This book was pretty dark, I'm a little behind on reviews, so it's very possible that I've missed some content warnings.