Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

123 reviews

slshules's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I loved this book. I loved the characters, I loved the plot, and I loved the writing. The first half of this book is rather slow, but it builds up relationships and the ‘why’ characters are who they are. That first half allows the second half of the book to FLY by. I read the last half of this book in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down. As for the writing, I was very impressed by the good use of omniscient point of view. You got to see every angle of the story, making it have so many more dimensions. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Sexual content

Minor: Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Sexism, and Drug use

guivx5's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense fast-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

I find interesting that every Jenkins book I've read so far differs quite a bit in their formats. "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" bases itself in an interview recording scenario; "Daisy Jones & The Six" is centered around an actual interview transcript. "Malibu Rising", on the other hand, is centered around what happens when the cameras are turned off. 

The book is divided in two very defined parts, a very bold move. It was, together with her cutting-edge writing style, risky: if the story was not well supported, it would fall upon itself. But it didn't, because it is a hell of a story. Maybe missing some bits here and there, but very consistent. The consistency between her books is a prime indicator of the care and passion put in these stories. You can feel, with every line, Jenkin's efforts to honor these characters. 

About the inconsistencies, they're truly not the biggest deal. Not even that big of a deal.

I personally feel she should've developed more on all siblings other than Nina. Of course, Nina is the center, but Jay's disease plot felt a bit... flat, the treatment it got in the storyline didn't match it's importance. And the same goes for Kit's sexuality (that got a mere two pages worth of development) and Hud's relationship with Ashley (This is the one lacking the most. Jay's beef with Hud for their relationship is so <i>dull</i>, so unexplained. Jenkins has a very straightforward writing style: she tells you what is going on, what that means and how the characters involved feel. If she simply addressed the sexist and idiotic nature of this conflict, it would be enough. But she chose to use it as a narrative point for forgiveness). But, after all, this is a story about an absent father, so I feel like she could've also left these side plots out of the story.

The book's two parts are very different, with the first one focusing on the past and the second one truly devoting itself to express the wild nature of an out-of-control party. Again, risky. But I like it.

Although I felt like a couple of side stories in the second half of the book were kinda useless.

In the end, the story handles well pretty much every aspect it proposes to elaborate on: parenting, abandonment, sexist men and their never-ending urge to fuck everything up... The list goes on, for the nuances Jenkins shows in her stories are many. I surely didn't expect it would be such a good reading experience, and I'm proud to announce that Taylor Jenkins still is one of my favorite authors of all time!

The most heartbreaking thing for Jenkins's fans after reading "Malibu Rising" is realizing that Mick Riva appeared in almost every recent book of hers. He was everywhere, but never where he was needed: with his children.

...

I swear to God, this woman puts crack between the lines of her books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Sexism, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Addiction, and Alcohol

Moderate: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Sexism, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Car accident, and Gun violence

cristinareading's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring reflective fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Alcoholism, Sexism, Violence, and Infidelity

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Car accident and Fire/Fire injury

finjareads's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Drug use

Minor: Sexism and Police brutality

lotus440's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Drug use, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment

violetsonata93's review against another edition

emotional funny sad

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A great book. Well worth a read. I enjoyed the characters and themes, the flashbacks and play by play of the night. It made me feel a lot. The ending kind of disappointed me though, which is mostly why I couldn't rate it as high as Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Abandonment, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Sexism

bookishkale's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I usually really like Taylor Jenkins Reid's work. I really enjoyed the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones and the Six. I don't know if I liked Malibu Rising. Parts of it were fantastic, and I couldn't tear my eyes from the page. Other parts were so dull I didn't know if finishing the book was worth it.

 I like the overarching story, I always appreciate a story that has two different timelines, but I don't know if it worked as well for me in this case. I like the Riva siblings, all of them endearing in their own special way. I liked hearing from each other them. Along the lines of TJR's other books, the characters are really the backbone of this story. Without the Rive siblings being so interesting, the rest of the story doesn't have much merit to me. I know Mick is supposed to be a flawed character, we have seen that in plenty of his other appearances in the TJR cinematic universe, but I don't really care for his and June's love story. I find it a little lackluster. I think TJR just needed to go a little further with everything in this book. Every one of the siblings' emotions are so stunted, and I understand why in the grand scheme of life, but in a book, go further. I felt like everything was just out of the Riva's hands, brushing their hands of everything. I feel like there is no good conclusion to anything, but maybe that's the point? I don't know, it feels a little messy to me. I didn't really like the cuts to random strangers just because they were at this party, I felt like it took away too much from the impact of the story. 

If you like TJR, I would say you should still pick up the book to connect more with her little universe that she has going on. If you want an intro in this, I would go with Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo first. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Grief, Drug use, Alcoholism, Sexism, Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Gun violence, Police brutality, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

anniefwrites's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

I have mixed feelings about this one. I loved diving into this world and the lives of the characters, who all felt so real. Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing style is so attentive to the minutiae of everyday life and also the incommunicable parts of Big Feelings.

But the ending to me felt contrived, almost too saccharine. I found it hard to believe that SO many plot lines would all be resolved in one night. I wanted things to be more open-ended than they were.

I also started getting confused by the sheer number of characters toward the end. But I loved the core family members—especially Kit—and would have been happy just to live in a world with them where nothing really happened. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Sexism, Drug use, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Car accident, Miscarriage, Blood, Police brutality, and Racism

abbrillopezz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Abortion, Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Stalking, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Car accident, Sexual content, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Police brutality, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment

strixy16's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

1.5

Shockingly bad. Can’t believe this book is written by the same author as Daisy Jones. Would not recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexism, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Gun violence and Car accident