Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

343 reviews

joanne22rn's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Child death, Drug use, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Vomit, and Violence

purplexwidow's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book had me completely gripped from beginning to end. I started reading it just before the first episode of the show was released and both were so well done. It’s dark and twisted and perfect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail

z0tvzo's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Cursing, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Rape, Child death, Death, Medical content, and Chronic illness

0live_tr33's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Fatphobia, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Self harm, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Gore, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Child abuse, and Body shaming

growplantsreadbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense

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

4.75

I saved the debut for last! The "twists" felt very obvious and we're annoyingly jammed into the last chapters, but I was still interested in how it all unfurled.  It's incredible that in Flynn's first book she is already an expert at holding up a mirror to the horrors that white women perpetrate. 

A message to those who didn't like this book because it made you uncomfortable: you SHOULD feel uncomfortable when consuming media about children being murdered ✌️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug use, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Rape, Murder, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty

lunababybat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was a tough read for me, especially due to the subject matter. Not saying it's not good, but Sharp Objects is a much heavier read than Gone Girl. I especially relate to the self harm and narcissistic mother. It took me a while to get through it, but I'm glad I finished it. A good example of what generational trauma can do to a family, taken to the extreme.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Murder, Child death, and Mental illness

psychedelic_koala's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Self harm, Alcoholism, Murder, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child death

louiepotterbook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

2.75

The misogyny and detailed descriptions of minors bodies ruined the story

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Child death, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Torture, and Vomit

xoopa's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.25

I am a fan of Gillian Flynn’s portrayal of complicated female characters and I genuinely love how the plot unfolds. This book too was a great reading experience. It shows the violence of generational trauma and the toxicity of mother daughter relationships in a new way. I am a sucker for psychological analysis of mother daughter relationships and their portrayal and this book delivers on it and more. But one thing I couldn’t quite get comfortable with was the over sexualisation of teenage girls and so many sensitive issues like sexual assault being dealt with such carelessness just to provide shock value. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Rape, Drug use, and Mental illness

antitheticaldreamgirl's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Child death, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug use

Minor: Animal cruelty