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Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Any Man by Amber Tamblyn

115 reviews

aformeracceleratedreader's review

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

4.25

READ TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNINGS
this was a great read (not necessarily because of the story since it discusses r*p* and s*x*u*l a*s*u*t, but the way it was told). It's multiple pov and can get pretty graphic. I wish we got a little bit of expansion on Michael and Sebastian as they were the victims we got the least amount of time with. I also didn't love the ending, but it was wrapped up nicely enough for me with how the victims coped and tried to heal.

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allapaz's review

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3.75

the writing here was killer, the character explorations were good, if not a little inconsistent with some characters given way more depth than others, but my biggest question with this one is....who is this for? a VERY difficult read and yes it's impactful and raw and disgusting in places, but this seems marketed toward the social demographic that already knows what the commentary is saying? 

tl;dr: good book, hard to recommend

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jjayne's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5


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aaliyahmaybe's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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candikat's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

When I heard of this, I was looking for a read that "would scare me". And it did, though not in the way I was expecting or looking for.
I also read that it was a "must-listen", and I am glad I went the audiobook route on this. Hearing the words of the male victims of the female serial rapist was chilling but also frustrating.  It is natural to feel bad for the victims, but it almost felt like a parody hearing the words I have heard so many women in my life say -  not only women on screen, in books, in media, but women I know and care about; the same words that received responses from others (mostly men) ranging from disbelief to accusation to complete lack of concern - being said by men seeking sympathy and closure.
It wasn't an easy listen and certainly not one I'll revisit, not soon anyway, but it was effective. 

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ellebosco's review against another edition

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4.0


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snerp_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Firstly, the prose in this book is absolutely beautiful, and really makes me want to look into Tamblyn's other works. While yes, it is very poetic at times, there are very clear distinctions between the voices of the main characters, both in speech patterns and personality. If I was basing my review based off quality of prose alone, this book would be a solid 5 stars.
I was a little unsure going into this book because of the framing of the perpetrator; expecting her story to follow the archetypal 'Stranger Danger' plotline so often used in stories of sexual assault, despite only making up a fraction of the actual crimes. However, I think Tamblyn utilized this archetype very well, and was actually beneficial when reading the survivors' stories as both personal accounts, and as an exploration of the larger culture around these topics. 
My main critiques are of the character Michael, and of the ending. I disliked that the only trans male character was the only victim to entirely lack a voice of his own; we only got to learn about him through social media posts (largely targeted at him through transphobia). While I was very hopeful to see a trans man being represented in a book about sexual assualt, I feel his story was the least fleshed out of all of them. This was especially disappointing considering that trans men have the highest rates of sexual violence against them, even compared to cis women. Giving a voice to a trans male character would've greatly benefited both the story, and the readers, especially compared to how long was spent giving a voice to an extremely misogynistic cis gay man instead. 
The ending was slightly confusing, and I feel it flew over my head, which is my only critique of it.

Overall, a very well written book, diverse cast, but does fail to equally represent certain minorities portrayed.

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perlarod14's review against another edition

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

3.75


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americattt's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

“I am in a body. It is not the one I came here with, but it is the one I’ll leave here in. I will take care of it. It belongs to me now. My pain, I will take care of it. It belongs to me now. My heart, I will take care of it. It belongs to me now. My story, I will take care of it. It belongs to me now."

Highly recommend the audiobook version of this, with a full cast that made everything feel so much more real. A very difficult read that made me feel sick to my stomach a few times, but I think the core material/message is important. 

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kristensreading's review against another edition

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dark sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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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