Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

47 reviews

kurumipanda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Dysphoria, Self harm, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Drug use, Pedophilia, Animal death, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Vomit

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

the_horror_maven's review

dark emotional tense 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: Antisemitism, Transphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Sexual violence, Violence, and Rape

Moderate: Animal death, Vomit, and Gore

siriface's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Sexism, Homophobia, Biphobia, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, and Racism

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

errie's review

challenging dark

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Mental illness, Body shaming, Torture, Dysphoria, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Emotional abuse, Rape, Hate crime, Alcohol, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Murder, Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Transphobia, and Self harm

spinebinding's review

challenging dark emotional 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

A compelling horror novel that felt like looking in a grimy bathroom mirror. A complex story dealing with the complex intersections of transness and racial identity, how fascism or psudo-fascist states and cultures eat into and violate every person living under them and how it violently separates us and turns us against each other for it's own benefit, making us both the victim and victimizer. 

This story focuses heavily on the fascism and socio-political climate of England.  As an American reader, the themes and concepts did translate and the story resonated deeply with me, but you will find it feels slightly misaligned with American fascism simply because they are different breeds of the same species.   

Some may find the imagery and messaging too heavy handed, but for me it never really felt out of place.  When reading others' opinions I would think 'of course it's heavy handed, fascism is heavy handed.  It beat's itself into you and many do not even notice.'

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Xenophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Sexism

Moderate: Racial slurs and Death

Minor: Drug abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Misogyny, Blood, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Hate crime

eanna's review

dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicide, Racism, Rape, Torture, Antisemitism, Murder, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Transphobia, Violence, Hate crime, Self harm, Sexism, Body shaming, Blood, Death, and Sexual assault

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

peggyhepburn's review

challenging dark reflective sad 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

3.75

*deep breath* Ok, I think this is a very heavy book, one that’s darkly and deeply reflective of society and the ways in which we and others perceive ourselves, as well as the trans community and what people deem the “ideal female body”. It’s well written, and I don’t believe that a cis author could have written this or done this topic the justice and truth that Rumfitt did, but it’s such a heavy book, one that feels like it’s pushing down more on your chest with each chapter, and so (rightly) political that I can’t say I’ve enjoyed it, it’s more like I’m glad to have experienced it, but I couldn’t read this again.

The language in this, especially considering the subject material and events, can often be very crude, cruel and uncomfortable to read, which I suppose is part of the point of the book. 

I am very glad that Rumfitt included the trigger warnings at the start of the book, they helped me prepare for some of the events and the language that would be used, not necessarily to the point that I knew just how heavy they would be but enough that I was going into the story understanding that I would be reading things that would (and in certain places did) really affect me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Self harm, Body horror, Sexual violence, Rape, Misogyny, Racism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Vomit, Antisemitism, Bullying, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, Drug use, and Violence

Moderate: Deadnaming