Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

216 reviews

susanalagesx's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, Addiction, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Drug use

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Vomit, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts

miggyfool's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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: Mental illness, Sexism, Vomit, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Confinement, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, Sexual assault, Medical content, Alcoholism, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Medical trauma, Grief, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, and Physical abuse

nerwenie's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Self harm, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, Child abuse, Child death, Bullying, Violence, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

mariaisabelad's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I had trouble getting into Sharp Objects. For the first 50-70 pages, I found Camille deeply unpleasant and I struggled to get invested in the story due to the time it takes for the story to reveal itself. I put it down for a couple months and was debating abandoning it entirely until I began watching the HBO adaptation.

Watching the world of Sharp Object be brought to light encouraged me to revisit the story and reminded me of the elements I was enjoying prior to putting the novel down. Once I got back into it knowing what kind of tone and pace to expect, I was able to stay on-board until the end. I would recommend anyone who reads the book checks trigger warnings and goes in understanding that it will be a slow burn thriller with a set of characters that are often unlikable or cold and hard to decipher.

I don't dislike this character direction for Gillian Flynn. In some ways, I find Camille to be an interesting exploration of the damaged/nihilistic detective archetype in many crime novels and films. Her darkness and abrasive personality plays directly into themes in the story that make it crucial to events and how they unfold. She's unwilling to let you in, even as you're experiencing the world through her eyes. I also loved the characterization of Wind Gap as a town. There are so many painstaking details woven into the setting that make it feel lived in and sell the horror of later events effectively.

I have issues with the third act post-climax due to mostly to how fast the story ends after a big reveal, but I overall recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Self harm, Child abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

Moderate: Bullying and Toxic friendship

Minor: Sexual assault and Rape

catpolhamus's review against another edition

dark tense slow-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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Vomit, Drug use, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

stilestastic's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Vomit, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Murder, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Child death, Blood, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Medical content

Moderate: Grief, Pregnancy, Body horror, Sexual content, Violence, Dysphoria, and Gore

Minor: Eating disorder, Abandonment, Torture, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Cancer, and Addiction

lau_ro's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

It’s absurdly well written in its depressing tone and uncomfortable themes. The only reason I’m rating 5 stars is because of how uncomfortable I felt. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Bullying, Self harm, Animal cruelty, and Child death

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault

geck_h8's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I got into the characters after so much trauma and chaos but toward the end it seemed to unravel and the ending was predictable and quick compared to the great build of the story

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Self harm, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Sexual content, Mental illness, Bullying, Drug use, Child death, Murder, Violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol, Addiction, Animal cruelty, and Bullying

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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

2.5

Deeply silly and predictable, this contains a lot of images that the author clearly thought sounded really cool, and some very weird thoughts on women. I wasn't surprised to see in the afterword that this was her debut.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Medical content, Misogyny, Child abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Classism, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Fatphobia, and Murder

Minor: Kidnapping, Ableism, Rape, Animal death, Bullying, Torture, Trafficking, Addiction, Body shaming, and Racism

communoid'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
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Grief, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Bullying, Self harm, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Abandonment, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Blood, Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Child death, and Suicide