Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Normal People by Sally Rooney

720 reviews

eilisrowan's review

emotional fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Violence, Sexual violence, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Eating disorder, and Panic attacks/disorders

jstone0729's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Sexual violence

0live_tr33's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

kitkathw871's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

I found it a bit of a slog to get through because the relationship issues cycled repetitively, building tension where you think they're going to get it together this time

only for the book to end in an unsatisfying fizzle

. I do see the merit of this book as a reflection of the messiness of life, but it's not what I am personally looking for. There's a familiarity with which the author writes about sex and relationships that struck a discomfort within me and I couldn't shake that feeling, taking me out of the story by triggering memories on my own experiences. There's some great lines within the book and I think it does hold a mirror up to your perspective on your life,  but this book wasn't really for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Physical abuse

Moderate: Suicide

cupcake8's review

fast-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and Eating disorder

wherewolf37's review

emotional reflective sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual violence

Weird misunderstanding of bdsm dynamics within relationships

melissa_cosgrove's review

sad slow-paced

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

2.0

If “I can change him” was a book… and a really really boring one at that. Sentence by sentence, she’s a good writer, which is why it’s such a shame that she chose to write… this. I’m embarrassed to have read this?? I don’t get why this was such a hit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse

bookishbrenbren's review

emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

4.0

This review is going to sound silly but here goes

I don't think I've read such a captivating book in a long while. I was completely immersed in the inner workings of this tiny little polarized world. It was engrossing, I couldn't put it down and when I did, I kept thinking about it. I feel invested in these characters and I think the author did an incredible job of bringing them to life and capturing what life is like when you're a teen/new adult. Especially the internal life we live inside our own heads. 

on the other hand I fully agree with almost all criticisms of it that I've read 😂 the book is pretentious bordering on delivering a campy teenage movie (he's 17, a soccer star but he's top of his class but he's incredibly shy but he also recommends The Communist Manifesto to peers) and the not-like-other-girls girl even gets a makeover but not before she's read Swann's Way by herself at lunch. 👀 ok. Then also the treatment of disordered eating, classism, abuse and masochism and some light racism-makes-the-bad-guy-bad could also have been better handled. and honestly like on a very literal level, I feel silly caring who Connell Waldron asks to high school prom. But isn't it a sign of a strong writer that she can make me care about something like that? Ugh idk I am so torn. The characters are slightly cliche but nobody can write internal thought like this. I just don't know, send help 🏳️ I can't deny the pull that this book had on me and the fact that it made me feel things. I am a Marianne loyalist and I feel like I genuinely know her. She came to life for me. 
But idk I guess I also expected something more serious (but less self-serious?) than this 🫣 for all the hype and marketing it got 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Racism, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

harper11's review against another edition

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

1.0

One star because the only thing that pushed me through the trenches of this book was Rooney’s writing style. This book was completely and absolutely not for me, which is a shame considering the hype. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Bullying, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Child abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, and Blood

Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Racism

asyag's review

emotional sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide