Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Penance by Eliza Clark

61 reviews

katerina_l's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Death of parent

drrock's review

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Deportation

karenleagermain's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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 have a ridiculous confession. I took an ARC of Penance on my summer cruise and I didn't look carefully at the cover, where it clearly stated "a novel." I was convinced that I was reading a true crime book and kept telling everyone about this shocking case in England.  1/2 way through, I realized that it was fiction. It's mortifying to admit this, however, I'm coming clean. I work at a bookstore and I even have this statement on my shelf-talker for Penance.

The book is a fast-paced force. If you do like true crime, this story will test your love of the genre, as it serves as a push back on our culture's obsession with true crime. In Penance, a group of teenagers lock a classmate in a beach shed and set the shed on fire. The girl survives long enough to accuse her attackers. The story is told through the eyes of the juvenile criminals and there is very little that they regret. We also see the story through the eyes of a true crime podcast, which flippantly talks about the case and is not dissimilar to real life popular true crime podcasts.

I was absolutely hooked by Penance and read it within a few days. I was actually quite relieved that it is a work of fiction, because the details are horrific. Eliza Clark is a fabulous writer and I look forward to reading her other books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

A teenage girl is murdered by her classmates in a very brutal attack where she is burned alive.

sheeprustler's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

mashapopeskovic's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infidelity, Blood, Lesbophobia, and Classism

kitfkat's review

dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Antisemitism, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Dementia, Abortion, and Lesbophobia

sgonzo's review

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

bethsreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Penance is a disturbing and macabre fictional true crime novel ‘written’ by a disgraced journalist about three girls murdering their schoolmate in a small seaside town. 

One of the novel’s focal points is exploring the ethics of the true crime genre, particularly the exploitative aspects. A true crime story is so easy to get pulled into, as it offers some of the most extreme and disturbing corners of humanity; but it is important to stop and think: how true is true? Having two writers of the book, Clark herself and the journalist in the story writing the book, adds an extra layer of authorial distortion, demanding you constantly question the legitimacy and trustworthiness of every word you consume.

I particularly love writing that refuses to sit idly within binaries and instead adventures around all the boundaries of a topic, and this book does that. From the subject matter, it seems like there would be an obvious right and wrong, and while there is in the grand scheme of things, the layers and nuances offer a much more complex story. Clark, in my opinion, is quite clear in her stances, but they are thoughtful, balanced opinions that filter in through the story while still leaving room for personal moral engagement as the reader. 

I think Clark also does a fantastic job of depicting teenage-hood, especially in the mid 2010s, and the involvement of the internet at the time. Tumblr basically being a main character really transported me back to what teenage life was like in 2015.  

I did feel like there was perhaps some unnecessary historical backstory to the town, which did enrich the story and make it feel like a real place, but felt somewhat too much at times and I think some parts could’ve been edited down to streamline things a little. 

Overall this was an incredible story and one I’ll be thinking about for a long time! As a warning though, please be sure to check the content warnings first as it covers some difficult topics (though I believe it handles them all well and with respect). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Eating disorder and Vomit

sarahrosebooknook's review

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This book was interestingly done as it modeled a true crime documentary. The amount of things that I learned about teens and the depths of the internet make me really afraid for my kids in the future. I probably would have rates it a 4.5 but the last 50 pages or so are packed with so many trigger warnings. It left me with a knot in my stomach. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

sneha_sarcar's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail