Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

998 reviews

yjd's review

dark mysterious tense

• 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

3.75

So this is what men mean when they say bitches be crazy. Almost every woman in this book fell on the spectrum of awfulness. And it was great! It's pretty rare to have a complex, awful woman who is not just a sex bomb. This book was tense and discomforting. I thought Gillian Flynn did a great job of communicating the stifling nature of a small town. She also did a great job demonstrating the perilous side of femininity and mothers. The book was not as sophisticated as Gone Girl, and I felt somewhat underwhelmed at the end. I probably would have been more shocked if I had not experienced Gone Girl. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Child death

Moderate: Emotional abuse

somanytictoc's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

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

opal_scorpio's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

i felt like the plot slowed in the middle but i was definitely interested throughout. i couldn’t really put it down by the time i reached the last third of the book. the narrator isn’t perfect but you definitely felt bad for her and could understand why her judgment was clouded and she kept making poor decisions. 

i do feel like it took Camille too long to come to terms with her mother’s abuse when it was so overt to the reader. the twist of it being her sister at the end was really good though. i felt like it was done when her mother was arrested but i was completely shocked it was Amma and her friends who killed those two girls! i thought she was simple apathetic from her own trauma from their mother.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Violence, Alcoholism, Murder, Alcohol, and Self harm

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Drug use, and Physical abuse

Minor: Animal death, Lesbophobia, Medical content, and Rape

esterie's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

mommy issues: the book

also rip to amma she would have loved the album 'dear diary, my teen angst has a bodycount' by from first to last

anyway, watched all but the last episode of the miniseries as it aired, so the ~big reveal~ was still a surprise to me. not much else to say. a book full of terrible people (who also make terrible people). at least romance didn't "fix" the MC.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm

onyxem's review against another edition

challenging 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

2.75

Hmm… how do I explain what I feel about Sharp Objects? 

First of all, this is my second Gillian Flynn novel, the first one I read being Gone Girl- which I very much enjoyed. What made Sharp Objects less enjoyable for me personally was the setting and the characters. This setting was, for me, an extremely unlikeable town with extremely unlikeable and sometimes unbelievable/unrealistic characters. For example, Amma, who is 13 in the story, doesn’t act 13 at all- and neither do the other children in the story- so much so that I had to remind myself how old they were. The southern atmosphere filled with selfish, deplorable, disgusting characters led me to not being able to relate and in turn, not deeply connect with ANY of the characters in this story. I realize Flynn’s intent was most likely what I’m describing- to disgust the reader and unsettle- which I most definitely was. However, the more I think about it, the more I feel that if I was able to connect with the characters more or the setting more, I’d be more affected by the thrilling aspects of the story or more invested in the ending. Instead, I was rather just left with a bad taste in my mouth. Personal preference here- but I felt the romance was rather unnecessary as well as the sexual aspects of the story. 

I realize I’m being rather critical in this review, so I don’t want to downplay Flynn’s magnificent, descriptive writing style. Part of the reason I am able to feel so disgusted and impacted by this story is because of her detailed writing and descriptive nature. I feel like she has a talent for getting readers invested, even if they might not like the setting or characters. Finally, I was able to pretty much guess the plot twists at the end- but I was invested enough to be entertained on the journey. Overall, I land on 2.75 stars ⭐️. 

I’ll still most definitely check out Dark Places, because I’d like a chance to once again enjoy Flynn’s writing while also enjoying the characters and setting more than I did in Sharp Objects.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, Self harm, Child abuse, Vomit, and Sexual content

andrea_lachance's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad 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

Sue me I think the show is a smidge better. Thoroughly enjoyed this book, can wait to buy a copy and annotate it on second read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Child abuse, Self harm, Addiction, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

purplexwidow's review

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

vistacanas'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

3.75

“She’d always been one of those types of girls who wanted what anyone else had even if she didn’t want it.”

Gone Girl was a favorite so I was excited to read this book. It was good, but not as good as Gillian Flynn’s masterpiece.

This one was a bit overdone, I thought. And, definitely more predictable. That being said, “more predictable” for Gillian is still far less predictable than other authors. This was still a fun romp on the dark side that pulls you in and keeps you there! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Murder, Bullying, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Child death, Death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcohol