Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy
Graphic: Child death, Sexual content, Torture, Kidnapping, Stalking
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Murder, Abandonment
Likes: love the pacing and love that it's set in Britain. It reads like a great bbc mystery. The twists were good but predictable. The ending was good!
Dislikes: the main character who you're supposed to love, I didn't. She was supposed to be the victim but I didn't think she was. The antagonist was flat.
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Torture, Trafficking, Stalking, Pregnancy
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Kidnapping
Minor: Emotional abuse, Murder
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Pregnancy
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
I kid you not when I say this is literally one of the most messed-up books I have ever read. The Liars series had bad stuff like this IN those books, BUT THE PLOT TWISTS MADE SENSE. This book literally feels like a fever dream. I can’t even put it into words. The only thing I can say is that it spellbound me. I literally COULD NOT put it down, I HAD to know how it ended. Just…I can’t. I don’t know what else to say. This book sucked.
Revisited (4.0 stars):
Yes, I reread it. And BOY OH BOY, I was READY for it this time.
I think that for books like this, you really have to know what you're getting into. You need to know what level of disgusting, messed-up crap is gonna be in these types of books before
That being said, for this genre? Then She Was Gone is MASTERFUL in its storytelling, and I think it paved the way for a lot more books like it, like I Invited Her In by Adele Parks. I'll have to fact-check that, but the two fall in the same category. However, where I Invited Her In is basically just a bunch of things happening in quick succession, Then She Was Gone is actually a narrative that is woven through multiple different time frames, and just about EVERYTHING ties together in the end. It's very smart, and honestly just very good writing.
Ellie is very well-written for being a teenager, and no one can fault her for the mistakes she makes that lead to her downfall. You can feel genuinely bad for her and what she goes through down in that basement.
Floyd, Laurel, and Poppy are all VERY well-rounded characters, and I liked them a lot. Not much to say on that front. Laurel and Poppy's relationship is very sweet, especially in the end.
I would probably rate this book higher, but we have history. Maybe I'll revisit it sometime in the future for a higher rating, but for now, I'm satisfied with what we have.
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Murder
Minor: Physical abuse, Violence
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment