Scan barcode
afroheaux's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
It's a group of men speaking as their teenage selves as they dive into what has become their life's mystery to solve: the suicides of the Lisbon sisters. Do note that this is a mid to late 1970s teenage boy's brain. There's a lot of misogyny in here as well as instances of boys doing insane shit due to their obsession with the sisters. Their "investigation" is only possible because they stalked them. Be prepared to hear racist, classist, and overall dated language. People of color are not treated as human beings in most scenes in this book, black people especially.
The absurdity and obsessive nature of these boys are also part of the appeal for me. It's so raw. The depth of the descriptions of the mundanity of it all amongst the chaos of being a teenager. They do not spare you their teenage thoughts or strange happenings. I would give it five stars, but I can only give so much to a man's account of five teenage girls. Their analysis was naive and misguided, sometimes cruel and insulting. The way they marveled over the girls but were also seemingly hopeless to save them from their fate. You watch a family of abused children and a controlling mother come apart before your eyes even though the narrators are not describing it as such. The girls are more mirages than anything else, molding into whatever piles of pillows the boys had laying next to them.
The boys say their decision was selfish, but it was the only option they saw that was good for them. They were being left to rot by a mother who didn't want to take care of them anymore. Yet at the same time refused to let them live any other way. A way that could've saved their lives. It's a heartbreaking story about what happens when parents don't let children be human.
"We just want to live. If anyone would let us. ” - Therese Lisbon
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Stalking, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
ptitirodactyle's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Suicide, Stalking, Child death, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Self harm
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Medical content, Drug use, Pedophilia, Alcohol, and Pregnancy
reginahafner_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual content, Stalking, and Grief
zuuizai's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Overall it was a slow, dull read which is perfect for putting you to sleep.
Minor: Suicide and Stalking
phillyhufflepunk's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
The Lisbon Girls deserved better, and although the story would have been 10x better from their perspectives, I still rate it 4 stars because by hearing the story from a bunch of clueless middle aged men, who were clueless teenaged boys, you see just how ignored these girls felt when they were practically SCREAMING for help.
Moderate: Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Racism, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, and Suicide
efnelson12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Suicide, Child abuse, Stalking, and Sexual content
saoreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Deadnaming, Confinement, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Stalking, Death, Alcohol, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts
fancymcgee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
“daughters of the community”
Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Blood, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Self harm, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Medical trauma
Minor: Racial slurs
icarusandthesun's review against another edition
- 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
1.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Blood, Child death, and Suicide
Minor: Alcohol, Medical content, and Pregnancy
pissfox's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Stalking, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol