Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

13 reviews

dennyiii's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Blood, Confinement, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Medical content, Mental illness, Body horror, Gore, and Violence

fanboyriot's review against another edition

dark fast-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

3.0

I’ve had this book for a while and just got around to reading.  Naturally, I went into it knowing nothing, as one does.  To say it was not what I was expecting was an understatement.  The plot did have a promise, there were some things that seemed all too realistic in a horror-ish paranoid way.  The setting was done nicely at least.

Honestly, most of what I didn’t like was the ending.  We got no answers for anything really, and it left with absolutely no resolution.  It just felt like it was dragged out and then it just ended.  The switching POV I normally really like just didn’t work for me; they just seemed too close to one another and a few pages in I’d forget which character it even was.

(First Person POV)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Genocide, Death, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Torture, Body horror, Gore, Blood, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal death, Confinement, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Ableism, Vomit, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Cursing, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, War, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, and Eating disorder

tiredtori's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Blood

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Violence, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, and Gore

Minor: Emotional abuse, Grief, Drug use, Vomit, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt

sapphire_dreams's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

This is literally one of the best books I ever read!! It’s chilling, dark and kinda a coming of age. I ADORED the characters and the whole story was so well constructed. The whole of Raxter and the dynamic between the girls was SO GOOD!! I genuinely loved it 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Torture, Death, Genocide, Gore, Blood, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Self harm, and Abandonment

apolloniablooms's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.0

It really choked at the end, which felt rushed.  Overall glad I read it, but it feels like a shadow of books like Annihilation and Inspection which do the same thing but feel more complete.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Self harm, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Gore, Body horror, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, Confinement, Blood, Animal death, and Abandonment

jazminnnnnnn's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit

booksbutmakeitgay's review

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Violence, Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Confinement, Grief, Medical content, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm

its_nix's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Abandonment

ecn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I really like the premise of this book but almost the whole story was about the journey to the answer. I think there needed to be a bit more of a build up instead of waiting around for an answer.
Other than the girls’ school aspect, the story was almost exactly like an XFiles episode - which was fun, but it also left me wanting/expecting more. Nothing felt new or exciting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Blood, Body horror, Toxic relationship, and Forced institutionalization

keen's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Initially, I felt off about this book. It didn't feel like horror, it felt like a thriller. High-stakes and tense moments, but nothing scary past the graphic body horror. As a body horror fan, that was enough to keep me going, even if I wasn't sure I was reading a horror book.

It took me until halfway through to realize I went into this book with the wrong expectations. Not every horror story involves running away from a murderer or trying to escape the attention of a ghost. This is a story about being trapped in a bleak situation and trying to survive when everything is out to kill you. It's about the strength of love and friendship that powers you through every horror you face.

Once I realized that, the emotional horror of this book hit me. Every paragraph made me question if there was some ounce of hope in the end. I can say I was satisfied with what I received, even if in the end it felt like I had no idea where I was being led until I was punched in the gut.

Additionally, I enjoyed the characters. There were times when I was angry at them, wondering why the girls were behaving so irrationally and why the adults felt so unhelpful. I had to remind myself of what it would be like to be a 14 to 17 year old girl, trapped on an island with a virus twisting your body into a mockery of itself, with little to no hope of surviving. Alternatively, I had to imagine what it would be like to take care of these children and watch as they die off, one by one. There's no way I could react logically in either scenario. The characters did the best they could do in the situation they were forced into and trapped in.

I admire stories that make me read deeper into the thoughts of the characters. To me, a good horror story makes me compare how I would face each situation to how the characters do. In this case, every event made me want to throw up, run away, or cry.

So, yeah, this story gave me the emotional turmoil. I was joyfully horrified.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Animal death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Bullying and Cursing