Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Cry Baby - Scharfe Schnitte by Gillian Flynn

73 reviews

wkh's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Warning: This book is dark. Very very dark. There are themes of murder, dysfunctional families, drugs, violence, sex, constant mentions of rape and self-harm.

With that being said, I did start reading this book knowing full well what I was getting into. However, I was a little perturbed by how dark the book seemed. I would have appreciated more emphasis on creating a better plot or more memorable characters. Instead, the macabre seemed to be the focus of the author.

I liked the plot and the story. I did not enjoy the writing style too much either - the writing seemed overly descriptive and there wasn't much of a plot besides the main character bouncing around town and having random conversations which might or might not yield any useful information. I can see why this book is hyped, but it just did not do it for me. Decent book, but I am not sure if I will be reading any more from Gillian Flynn.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Addiction, Violence, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Self harm

darlingcami's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism

kaaaaaaaa's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This is the first of Flynn's books that I've read, and it's the first of her books to be published. It was good, I just wasn't able to emotionally connect to the characters for some reason. In general, the mystery kept me interested more than the characters. To me, this book reminded me of Stephen King and Shirley Jackson, but it didn't have whatever secret sauce Jackson and King have that pushes the writing and the characters into top-tier. That disconnect makes some of the "disturbing small town details" come off a little forced, despite the fact that I'm well aware of and familiar with disturbing small-town details. I find them believable, but they're missing... something... that integrates them fully into the story; so instead, IMHO, they give a Hostel-style "violence for violence's sake" vibe.

I have a couple more of Flynn's books on hold from the library, so it will be interesting to see how she grows as a writer and if she can clear whatever this je ne sais quoi hurdle is.

Also, this isn't a real make-or-break thing, but how flexible is Camille

that there's only one spot on her back missing the words? How good at writing backwards while looking in a mirror can she be?

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Mental illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Murder, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Child death, Incest, Self harm, Addiction, Death, Classism, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Body horror, Rape, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Vomit and Infidelity

Minor: Eating disorder, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, and Fatphobia

ebsnewts's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Gritty, gripping, f***** up. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Body horror, Murder, Pedophilia, Bullying, Gore, Grief, Self harm, and Sexual content

auggiebug's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Murder, Misogyny, Infertility, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Pedophilia, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

this book is HEAVY! don't read without checking the trigger warnings first!

badtzmarus's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.25

A nice Introduction to mystery, I really liked how the author depicted the MC's stream of thoughts, a solid story; It's a very heavy read, due to the contents of the story, so I'd recommend reading it in the right headspace.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Child abuse, and Body shaming

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness

Minor: Bullying and Animal death

CWs really don't include it, but there are several detailed descriptions of a teen character sexualizing herself (like her clothes, mannerisms, etc.), if you're uncomfortable with that I'd recommend not reading it since it's very linked with her story.

alehsxsz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

2.75

Adoro livros do gênero, mas esse aqui não me conquistou. Objetivamente falando é um livro bom e até bem escrito, há muitas descrições e um desenvolvimento de enredo que ajuda a construir um "clima" perfeito pro auge da história, mas houve várias coisas que me incomodaram na história. Ao longo da história tive a impressão de que muita coisa ali tinha sido colocada com o intuito de chocar o leitor e particularmente não gosto disso, muita informação e muitos detalhes que só serviram pra me deixar com raiva e nada interessada na história. Odiei todos os personagens e todas as opiniões dadas no livro com exceção de uma pessoa. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abandonment, Blood, Body shaming, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

sarahmae531's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

I needed a good thriller and this definitely satisfied that! I really enjoyed the twist of the book, right when I was rolling my eyes thinking I figured out the ending, it got switched on me, which kept me on my toes. 

Definitely lots of content warnings for this book, so that’s something to be aware of. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Child abuse, Blood, Alcohol, and Addiction

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual content, and Fatphobia

Minor: Animal death

anamariarozoe's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Rape, Self harm, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

mraddd's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Torture, Emotional abuse, Murder, Blood, Violence, Vomit, Self harm, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Rape

Minor: Pedophilia