Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

349 reviews

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

jnl0's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Child abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Sexual content

duskisses's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

it took me a while to get to the middle of this book, but then once the pace picked up, i was hooked by this dark, disturbing read that pulled me into a depraved world and refused to let go until the very last page.

if you're in the mood for a psychological thriller that's as chilling as it is thought-provoking, this is the book for you. just be prepared to be left with a lingering sense of unease long after you've closed the cover. i rated this 3.5 stars for its twisted depravity and deducted stars because the ending felt rushed and i wanted to delve more into the recover process 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Drug use, Violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Bullying, and Gaslighting

jamo_etc's review against another edition

Not enjoying anything about it. Uninteresting characters, non compelling mystery, slow pace, unlikeable narration.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Blood, Child death, Mental illness, and Self harm

oddlyartless's review against another edition

challenging dark sad

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm and Mental illness