Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

دوشیزگان by Alex Michaelides

32 reviews

ladyettejin's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

nicoledelairs's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Hey what the fuck was that?

okay but when the author of the letter used the word "premonition" i for suurrrreeeee thought it had to be jack. Like???????? But okay finding out it was sebastion was a huge shock for me and makes me so sad for Zoe. She was groomed by this sick predator to become a tool for him

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Grief

Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment

spoiler for the Animal Death CW: a character is writing about his past and details an incident when his father shoots his dog, killing it. The character had a strong bond with this dog and it is quite upsetting and senseless violence

Spoiler for the Child Abuse and Pedophilia CW: late in the novel it is revealed that a female character was groomed from a young age by a male character that was close to her and sort of like a father figure. It can be assumed that this male character has sex with the female character while she is underage. Since she is not old enough to consent, I also tagged CW rape.

thewildkat's review against another edition

2.25

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I guessed the ending pretty early on. Also, the resolution to the story was a bit lacking and didn’t really tell you what the characters came away with and ended at a weird moment that would have been interesting to see.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria

kb_sherman's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting

probablypsychic's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Infertility, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol

Minor: Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt

leweylibrary's review against another edition

3.25

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I read this for a book club and was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. I'm normally not a big "there was a murder and now the MC is investigating it before it's too late" premise, but maybe I'm alright with it in an audiobook?

It also helps that I just finished Pandora's Jar, so my mind was very much in a Greek myth mindset, and there was a TON of that going on. I feel like if I was more knowledgeable on Greek myths, there would be so much more to unpack in this book and connections I'm just not seeing immediately. This will definitely be a good one to discuss in book club I think, especially if someone there does know Greek myths well. 

I knew there was going to be a twist near the end, but I was absolutely wrong about what it was 😅 I thought for sure

Fred was going to be the killer but yeah no definitely not lol

. When it was revealed, I was on the train on my way to work and I audibly gasped. Mouth wide open and everything, the people sitting across from me were startled lol.

The twist is the part I'm most excited to talk about because there are so many aspects of it that I don't understand or have questions about. For example,

did Sebastian intentionally kill himself? I don't believe his plan was as genius and foolproof as the author makes it seem. The MC should be way more fucked up afterwards than she seems. How the fuck did she not notice they were "in love" sooner?? He was having sex with her since she was FIFTEEN and grooming her that whole time?? Wtf, how do you not get any vibes at all. She must have been incredibly oblivious which I guess tracks since she also said they never talked about their pasts and she was just okay with that??

My biggest issues with the book were the ending, particularly how quickly it was "resolved."

It makes no sense that the cops all of a sudden are so eager and willing to believe her when they do recently we're sure she was crazy and needed help.

I also just don't think the characters, especially the MC. She's not the worst male-written character I've read, but she does still fall flat for me. And why is she surrounded by creepy dudes who want to hurt her or get into her pants? And idk how to feel about her

relationship with Freddy/Fred/whatever lol and his whole prophecy thing, that aspect rubbed me the wrong way for some reason.

All of that aside, I did enjoy reading it in the moment, and that's the biggest thing that matters to me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment

carolines's review against another edition

2.5

mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

dev921's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder

gwenswoons's review against another edition

2.0

dark tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

nehaanna's review against another edition

2.0

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I’m not entirely sure what this book accomplishes. It has the twists and turns of any murder mystery but the character development of the female characters is reprehensible. They are written through such a paternalistic and chauvinist viewpoint that it is overpowering to the plot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol