Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Babysitter: My Summers with a Serial Killer by Liza Rodman

8 reviews

_j3ss1ca's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Homophobia

kylamunoz's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Murder, and Drug use

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia

librarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

4.5

The Babysitter shows life in Provincetown MA in the 1906s through a mix of personal memoir and synthesizing a timeline of Tony Costa's life and crimes. There was an astounding amount of casual drug use, alcoholism, and a combination of the two, and the manic energy that cocktail of drugs creates was captured really well by Rodman's descriptions of the adults in her life. It was fully not the intention of the book, but having friends from MA and fond memories of visiting them, the vivid description of Portuguese foods and familiar locations made me smile. The happy memories Liza Rodman shares are intimate and nostalgic. This book is written with stunning detail, showing both the best and the worst the era and location had to offer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Murder, Suicide, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Cannibalism, Car accident, and Homophobia

Minor: Incest

foreverinastory's review against another edition

challenging informative slow-paced

3.0

This was interesting.

CWs: child abuse/neglect, murder, drug use/abuse, addiction, rape, sexual violence, emotional abuse, sexual assault, parental abandonment, domestic abuse, gore, dismemberment, violence, alcoholism, death, physical abuse, suicide, mental illness, adult/minor relationship, toxic relationship, blood, homophobia, f-slur, misogyny, sexual content. Moderate: animal cruelty, kidnapping, pedophilia, suicidal thoughts, torture, suicide attempt, injury/injury detail, fatphobia, body shaming, self harm, abortion, vomit, excrement.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Self harm, Abortion, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Body shaming, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, and Fatphobia

sblake26's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Addiction

sydneybooks13's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fatphobia and Homophobia

saldre's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

caseys_chapters's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

3.0

 The Babysitter left me with mixed feelings. Many recent true crime books blend memoir with journalism to provide both an emotional and factual account that wholly captivates the reader. This one fell a bit flat for me.

The chapters about Tony Costa were fascinating. They include rich (and sometimes disturbing) details that taught me a lot about a lesser-known criminal. I wish it included more hard facts over speculation, but understand that this isn't always possible.

The Liza chapters were far less gripping. Her childhood was undoubtedly heartbreaking, but too distant from the crimes to add much emotion or substance to the overall picture. It felt like two separate books at times. The connection between Liza and Tony was a bit forced and exaggerated by the title and premise.

Overall it is an interesting story with a unique perspective, but the execution fell short. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Addiction and Homophobia