Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

91 reviews

morgan_rudderow's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming, Grief, Murder, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Alcohol, Animal death, Bullying, Dementia, Hate crime, Rape, Vomit, Cancer, Car accident, Death, Drug use, Death of parent, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, and Suicide

kayla_hehe's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

I wouldn’t necessarily suggest this book to anyone, I wouldn’t read it again, but I didn’t totally hate it. The whole premise was so unrealistic, and I don’t know a single public high school in America that would have a capstone project to graduate. There were moments where I was like oooh ok I like where this is going but the author would wrap that storyline up in the next chapter and move on from it entirely. Just overall felt forced and unrealistic. 

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Sexual assault, Bullying, Car accident, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Suicide, and Dementia

kyriannaj's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Animal death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Violence, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Car accident, Blood, Cursing, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Rape, and Murder

Minor: Addiction and Death of parent

ninariella's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Self harm, Sexual assault, Animal death, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug use, Murder, Racism, and Rape

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Dementia and Terminal illness

iamtheham's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Murder, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Body shaming, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Rape, Drug use, Fatphobia, Self harm, and Sexual assault

Minor: Dementia

litbrett's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Rape, Grief, Animal death, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Dementia, Murder, Car accident, Death, Kidnapping, and Violence

madflatt's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Dementia, Death, Confinement, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Rape, Stalking, Gore, Kidnapping, Violence, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Car accident

singalana's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Dividing books based on the age of the protagonist has always felt a bit arbitrary to me: this book is young adult, but deals with some rather heavy topics, even more so that a lot of the thrillers directed at adults. 

This is Holly Jackson’s strong debut thriller. Five years ago a schoolgirl was murdered. Everyone knows who did it, and the case is closed. Pippa chooses the case as her final-year project and starts to dig deeper to what really happened. 

The characters in this book are mostly teenagers and the adults in their lives. The characters feel well-defined and authentic with their complex problems. The main character Pippa doesn't feel especially memorable, but on the other hand this gives more room for the story. I liked the family dynamics of the main characters, they were so wholesome. 

The book is told in mixed media format: there are notes, texts and diagrams as Pippa collects evidence in an attempt to solve the case. 

I found the book to be very entertaining, relatively fast-placed and at least I couldn't predict what had really happened that night five years ago. 

If you're looking for utmost realism in your books, be warned. As some reviewers have pointed out, Pippa does get into rather dangerous situations and there seem to be no repercussions for her actions. You'd think the police might have something to say about the way she acquires information.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abortion, Vomit, Body shaming, Racism, Stalking, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Confinement, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Cancer, Car accident, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Murder, Grief, Bullying, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Violence

shannonharper_x's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I'm desperate to start the second book! The twists and tension in this book kept me so on edge and  it was so fun to follow along in the investigations and piece together the clues myself. Even then, the constant twists and turns of new information was unexpected and rerouted my train of thought!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Kidnapping, Murder, and Drug use

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Animal death, Violence, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Cancer, Vomit, and Dementia

lana_e's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Abortion, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Dementia