Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Penance by Eliza Clark

174 reviews

arayo's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Murder, Child death, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Child abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Biphobia, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Racism, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Kidnapping

Minor: Xenophobia, Cursing, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Body shaming, and Animal cruelty

cadence99's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.5

What a VISCERAL experience of a book as a woman who grew up online in the 2010’s- this has so many elements that made it a perfect read for me: the most unreliable narrator, niche tumblr cringe, and true crime community critique. This is definitely a unique experience of a book that I wouldn’t recommend to just anyone BUT it worked SO well for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Body horror, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Homophobia, Alcohol, Torture, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Body shaming, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Lesbophobia, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Xenophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, and Police brutality

grahammoore's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Incest, and Child abuse

lars702's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, and Torture

sophie______a's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Torture, Body shaming, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Lesbophobia, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Sexual content, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Physical abuse, Grief, Self harm, and Classism

alexandramary's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Bullying, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Torture

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-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

4.25

 Penance is a wonderfully engaging, multilayered fictional true crime novel. It looks at the dark side of the internet - tumblr fandoms as echo chambers - and what can happen when relationships among teenage girls go bad. There' s a focus on class, and Clark has fun with the unreliable narrator trope and the exploitative aspects of the fascination with true crime. I enjoyed the multimedia aspects and the novel as a whole, although sometimes it felt a little long and overly detailed, something that could have been a deliberate, conscious choice. Be warned - the opening section is graphic and tough to read, but it is worth persevering. Great storytelling and thoroughly absorbing. I couldn't look away.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, and Murder

lweezthereadrat's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

The premise made me pick this up because true crime makes me squirm- it was interesting to see it pastiched and dissected. I would've loved some more of the interview/aftermath of the book in the book being published, the last ten pages were exhilarating. The main meat of the book is also gripping but very grim- I was seriously worried I wouldn't be able to stomach Penance after the first twenty pages but luckily Clark doesn't linger on the unpleasant details.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Drug use, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Suicide, Blood, and Fatphobia

applejuiceinabox's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Murder, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Toxic friendship

jessisamess's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Torture, Mass/school shootings, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Bullying