Reviews tagging 'Death'

Penance by Eliza Clark

95 reviews

maddb_96's review

adventurous dark funny 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? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Child death, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Death, and Adult/minor relationship

sspaghettiboness's review

dark funny medium-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

Absolutely engrossing and enthralling. I connected so deeply with this because I was born super close to the same years as the girls, the references to fandoms and internet culture hit close to home. I was a total Violet (but my fascinations were in other areas) - but it felt like I knew every character. They were so well crafted and real.

The plot, structure, and syntax exceeds five stars. It’s perfect. I never felt bored or unengaged - the book took me so long to read because I had to find special pockets of time where I could just read, otherwise I’d abandon responsibilities.

I love how different this is from Boy Parts - and calling myself a super fan of that novel is an understatement. It’s just so fresh and… Eliza just. Gets dark feminism, to me. She gets women supporting other women, but she also gets feminine rage directed at other women. It’s not for everyone, I don’t think she’s trying to write for everyone, and I think that’s the best kind of writing. 

I love, love, love an unpredictably unreliable narrator. I love how she held on to that reveal. Completely changing absolutely everything at the end and letting the reader just sit with that as they close the book. Is. Madness and genius.

I’m frothing, fully rabid to see what Clark writes next. What I wouldn’t give to get a coffee with her and just talk about life and people experiences. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

bergmbr's review

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Torture, and Violence

aliyachaudhry's review

dark funny mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Racism, Torture, Cursing, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Murder, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Sexual assault, Biphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Vomit, Ableism, Suicide, Pedophilia, and Incest

Minor: Self harm and Eating disorder

laurataylor's review against another edition

dark reflective tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Suicide, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, Gore, Animal cruelty, Murder, Physical abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Lesbophobia

chronicacademia's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An incredible, uncomfortable, horrifying dissection of the true crime genre and its “fandoms.” A must read for anyone who consumes true crime. 

Adding a content warning for necrophilia as well as the content warnings listed below. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Incest, Lesbophobia, Mass/school shootings, and Medical content

sarah984's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

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

3.0

This book was fine, it captured the voices of the teens and (most of) the internet culture of the era really well, but I do think it fell into its own trap a bit in over focusing on the perpetrators without a lot of self awareness, and a few things about the internet culture of the time are inaccurate in a way that annoyed me (especially the assertion about ao3 because I think the truth actually adds to the book's point). The twist is so obvious from pretty much the beginning that the epilogue feels like a joke.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Classism, Gore, Body shaming, Vomit, Addiction, Alcohol, Kidnapping, and Medical content

Minor: Death of parent, Rape, Drug use, Racism, Eating disorder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abortion, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, and Confinement

velvet_young's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Classism, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

mattieallen's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Bullying, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Classism

taliakdean's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Vomit, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Blood, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Incest, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Dysphoria, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical content, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, and Torture

Minor: Dementia, Body shaming, Racism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Ableism, Grief, Abortion, Miscarriage, Outing, and Pregnancy