Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

4 reviews

emmaward55's review

dark sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book is perfect for anyone who loves the Charmed TV series and thought it could be scarier.

When I was on chapter four, my working theory was that the missing girls were being turned into horses by Val and her mum: But oh, it's so much darker than that. I love a good horror film, yet I found myself more creeped out in reading this book than I expected to be. Legrand's writing is evocative, tense, and atmospheric, without getting too bogged down in description. There's plenty of action and moments of good character growth throughout.

I read this book in two days, mostly in three long chunks, as I couldn't drag myself away to focus on anything else! I loved the complex relationships of our three protagonists and their characterisations have to be a highlight for me. Can't lie though, I’m sad that we didn’t get a reunion scene at the end between Marion and her mum. Considering that this is a book about female relationships, it feels weird to not include one of the protagonists interacting with the last present female parent of the trio. 

That being said, the above was my only real complaint. I'd certainly read this book again and I recommend it for anyone with a strong stomach!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Blood, Self harm, Child death, Violence, Torture, Animal death, Gore, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, and Sexual content

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Miscarriage

Child death and kidnapping:

All are around 17

Self harm:

The only instance I remember is a character burning something off their skin, but it's done to save themselves and others

Drug abuse and suicidal thoughts:

A secondary character isn't trusted with their prescription medication, as a loved one suspects they might intentionally overdose. Nothing actually happens and it's just a brief mention.

yush's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

The goods: I loved the plot of this story! I was drawn in and engaged throughout the novel.  

I think that was substantially due to   the amazing  writing style. I found that each character had a distinct voice and enjoyed seeing them come to light. 

I think the world in which the story was set was beautifully built and I throughly enjoyed exploring it. 

The bads: the characters. From a purely relatability stand point, I found the characters hard to connect with. They seemed very 1-dimensional- with each having seemingly one personality trait that they centred their lives around. There was no reflection on how certain decisions went against their own morality etc. 

This book was also a tough sell as the feminist read I thought it would be. While, on surface level it seems to preach girl power, the female characters were very much portrayed in a negative light. For example, the mothers of the main characters were all negligent (or abusive).  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, and Violence

elliesberrie's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Death, Blood, Grief, Child death, and Bullying

Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, Sexual content, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Car accident and Alcohol

starlessnights's review

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcohol, Car accident, Cursing, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism

Minor: Vomit