Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

31 reviews

unluckycat13's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

5.0

I normally don't like a book about such awful people, but honestly I've definitely known the people in this book. Especially Alice. To some extent I've been the people in this book at one point or another. It's a very raw and honest book, people say that about a lot of things but this is sincerity without the saccharine coating that's usually used. 

It has unhinged fetish posts that are reminiscent of the real Internet, and it plays with the structure of a novel in ways that are meta without breaking the story. 

The author builds moments of genuine tension that I rarely feel in a novel. The down side is that the author frequently undercut these moments too. 

My favorite aspect was that the book is very topical. Most fiction is afraid to be set in the world we live in, identifiable and dated. It must always be timeless unless it's a period piece. This book is very identifiably the world I inhabit and see every day. 

Overall solid and I look forward to seeing what other books the author writes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Rape, Violence, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Racism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Self harm, Sexism, Misogyny, Mental illness, Drug use, Deadnaming, Confinement, Bullying, Body shaming, Antisemitism, Animal death, and Addiction

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Blood, Racism, Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Antisemitism, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Toxic relationship, Gore, Drug use, and Murder

Moderate: Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Addiction, Lesbophobia, Suicide, Animal death, and Excrement

Minor: Kidnapping, Islamophobia, Gun violence, Child abuse, Car accident, Infertility, Child death, and Pedophilia

justk's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

this book is phenomenal. it does something that ought have been done a long time ago — imagines that “a gothic house” is haunted and fuelled by fascism. the writing is conversational and beautiful, elegant and brutal, which allows the author to approach very complex topics with precision. i was devastated by it and then brought back to life again. we need more books that are direct about pain, because without looking at it as a part of living we will never be able to understand ourselves. besides, i feel like fascism might be one of the, if not entirely, the most important subject we can discuss right now.

i personally thought that the moral of the story was a bit too on the nose (

if we unite despite our differences, we can resist the biggest evil there is

), but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. especially considering how many people (judging by the reviews here) misunderstood it anyway. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Drug use, Body horror, Murder, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Gore, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Vomit, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Violence, Toxic friendship, Racism, Misogyny, Suicide, Sexual content, Racial slurs, and Self harm

yes, it is heavy on content warnings, but i promise it’s a book worth reading (if you can handle it — please take care)

marjati_reads's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Mental illness, Body shaming, Drug use, Rape, Murder, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Blood, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Racism, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Body horror, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

evelyncore's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

5.0

This book feels and reads like a political post nut clarity - and that's good?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Body horror, Rape, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Classism, Self harm, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Infertility, Vomit, Addiction, Pedophilia, Bullying, Excrement, Alcoholism, Islamophobia, Outing, Deadnaming, Deportation, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Racism, and Ableism

musical_alex's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense 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

4.5

yikes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gore, Vomit, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Self harm, Transphobia, Violence, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Addiction, Homophobia, Sexual content, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Excrement, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, and Sexual harassment

dodgeremerson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

3.5

Absolutely brutal. 

This book made me deeply uncomfortable the entire time I read it. I don't regret reading it, as it is a good look at how easy it is to fall into fascist ideology, especially for young people and marginalized individuals. 

It is not for everyone, but if you have the stomach for it, it's worth a read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Hate crime, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Body shaming, Gore, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Rape, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Torture, Violence, Racism, Addiction, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Bullying, Confinement, Dysphoria, Grief, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, and Vomit

catatlanta's review

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

I don’t know how to rate this. An uncomfortable, compelling, experimental exploration of fascism, and particularly the rise of transphobia in the UK. Genuinely horrifying and painfully real even in its most exaggerated moments. Essential queer reading but not something I am comfortable recommending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Body horror, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Vomit, Rape, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual assault, Gore, Excrement, Violence, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Suicide attempt

jazthegreat's review

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Antisemitism, Body horror, Addiction, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Dysphoria, Excrement, Racism, Alcohol, and Blood

woweewhoa's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Rape, Antisemitism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Violence, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gore, Excrement, Drug use, Sexism, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Xenophobia, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Infertility, and Homophobia

Minor: Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, and Fire/Fire injury