Reviews tagging 'Death'

Penance by Eliza Clark

81 reviews

tessa_specchio's review

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

woah 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Bullying, Torture, Death, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Homophobia, Gore, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Grief, Vomit, Classism, and Suicide

Minor: Alcoholism, Police brutality, Eating disorder, Racism, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

florenceassetto's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

i really liked this one! part of me wishes it was not read during exam season but it is also the only thing that has kept me sane(ish) so i have to be thankful! the speculative aspect of the book in it's entirety is something i found really interesting and i REALLY enjoyed the messaging and commentary it does on the real world - i find it particularly interesting and especially well delivered. this is almost definitely a book that is going to haunt me for a while but for all the best reasons, most definitely a read i would recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship, Child death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcoholism, Suicide, and Vomit

jesskb's review

challenging dark sad tense

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A dark work of fiction modelled on true crime with a frankly crazy level of realism. This book reflects on some of the darkest aspects of human nature, what drives people to extreme acts of violence, the lingering traumas of primary and secondary school bullying and the other hidden traumas that accompany them, and the horrors of being "terminally online" in the unfiltered madness of the Tumblr era. 

Interesting if horrific, and unusual for its almost documentary style - which worked very well as an audiobook, with a true crime podcasty feel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

whoisrois's review

challenging dark funny sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

books written for me specifically 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence

Moderate: Medical content, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Ableism, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcohol, Racism, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Islamophobia, Medical content, Rape, Fatphobia, Classism, and Medical trauma

elenakperez's review

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

As someone who was a young girl on Tumblr in 2012 and in middle/high school in the 2010s, much of this book is familiar to me because of the online spaces I was tangential to at those times. Also, as a person who consumed true crime via podcasts and documentaries recently, this book has changed the way I consume true crime. This book has been eye-opening and really made me reflect on my own consumption of true crime as well as how our society engages with what is now an industry that profits off of retelling the oftentimes unsanctioned stories of peoples' real and very personal tragedies. I would recommend this book to everyone I know.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Alcohol, Grief, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Mental illness, Racism, Racial slurs, Self harm, Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Mass/school shootings, Pedophilia, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Stalking, Torture, Violence, Child death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

charliedon's review

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

A mixed media book presented as a non-fiction publication by a disgraced journalist. Penance looks into the modern fascination with true crime and it’s affect on young impressionable people. The presentation of the book is very well done leading to a discussion as to the intentions of the ‘author’ which is then confirmed of by the end of the book. A good read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Mass/school shootings, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Torture, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug use, Suicide, Self harm, and Police brutality

nicole__reads's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

A gruesome, extraordinary novel that delivers a multifaceted critique of the pop culture true crime obsession, with a story that pulls you in and requires reflecting on your own engagement with it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Gun violence, Self harm, Child death, and Torture

Moderate: Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Racism, and Sexual assault

erikoo's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore

rallythealli's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Holy shit, such an intriguing look into true crime, the effects it can have and how being a teenage girl is awful. Fascinating and horrifying. Check the trigger warnings for sure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Self harm, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Death, Child death, and Bullying

canderssss's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I personally loved this, I feel like it was hard to remember that it was a book of a book essentially but I def feel like it got the tumblr vibes down pat

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Death, and Mass/school shootings