Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Penance by Eliza Clark

41 reviews

bionicfox666's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Self harm, Violence, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Child abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Rape, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Mass/school shootings

naturally's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Bullying, Homophobia, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Racism, Alcohol, Drug use, and Pedophilia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit

artrobot5000's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Moderate: Torture, Ableism, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, Animal death, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Bullying

exquis's review against another edition

dark funny 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Bullying, and Violence

carbs666's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.25

I really like a book that bends the concept of truth and this book does an excellent job with that! The "true" account of a functional murder written by a scummy ex-journalist, the central narrative of the brutal murder of a high school girl by her classmates is bookended by fictional publishers notes and news articles describing how the narrator may have made it all - or most of it - up. There's a lot going on in this book and Clark does a great job if mimicking the narrative non-fiction true crim writing style, which occasionally meanders into historical sidebars that aren't totally relevant but add a lot of colour. Clark also display such a keen and detailed understanding of the experience of being a teenage girl throughout this book - the romantic answer sexual fumbling, the reversals of fortune, all of it. Strongly recommend if you like true crime or stories about people with questionable morals.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Child death

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Alcohol

caissa_chthonia's review against another edition

dark funny tense 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

I absolutely loved it. It made me happy, it made me angry, I had a great time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, and Body horror

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Ableism, Alcohol, Blood, Self harm, Violence, Addiction, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Alcoholism

Minor: Eating disorder, Suicide, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, and Rape

quantumponies's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

katarinabee's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Pedophilia, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Death, Murder, Mental illness, and Child death

Moderate: Classism, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Self harm, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Bullying, and Rape

ginagray's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Child death, Blood, Homophobia, Gun violence, Grief, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Murder, Gore, Torture, Sexual assault, Mass/school shootings, and Bullying

bek_p87's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.75

This was dark, twisted, and thought-provoking on several levels. Presented as a non-fiction true-crime book about a horrific fictional murder in a small seaside town, this is about evil, our fascination with it, and how capitalism monetises this fascination. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Alcohol, Drug use, Homophobia, Ableism, Murder, Sexual violence, Bullying, Child death, Violence, Gaslighting, and Child abuse

Minor: Suicide