Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Penance by Eliza Clark

162 reviews

sandysmith's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

3.25

Dark, compelling narrative, which at times was difficult to read. Based on a story of 5 teenagers, 3 of whom torture and kill the 4th girl and the 5th girl falsely accused of being involved. It is also about the unreliable crocked narrator journalist who interviews those involved, researching the Internet, blogs, and fandoms writing about the murder, some of the writing factual, other parts a work of fiction. It was uncomfortable for me to read, which makes the rating very hard, as the book is so well written. It also made me consider the way in which things are reported, so I'm more likely to stick to fiction rather than glorified true crime reads.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Torture, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Violence

e11en's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, and Homophobia

rilakkumas's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

jen_prouvaire's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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, Death, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Pandemic/Epidemic

enkiiii's review against another edition

dark tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this book is so good. very shrewd and nuanced commentary on the ethics of true crime. and an “emotionally truthful” (as per the story’s fictional writer Alec Z. Carelli) depiction of what it’s like to be a teenager, and how that formative and often traumatic experience gets trivialized by adults until, well, somebody gets murdered. it was a difficult though entertaining read. and there’s a fun bit of metafiction in the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Pedophilia

jhartman16's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

pilarlopezleiva's review against another edition

dark funny informative reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

cherryreads22's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse

abi_laura's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Gun violence and Mass/school shootings

ermw0's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

The rare book where I am hooked by the premise, and then completely sold after the first page. I didn't want to look away while also feeling revulsion for the characters and their awful awful ways. God, how I do not miss being a teenage girl. I thought this was an effective commentary on the true crime fandom, as well as those Tumblr girlies who obsess over real serial killers. This book is graphic, infuriating, scary, repulsive, and addicting. Both a rebuke of the true crime genre and sort of a perfect example how you can create this type of gripping story without exploiting real people and their tragedies. As someone who fell off of true crime simply because of how slimy it made me feel consuming the grief of real people, this was the book that gave me everything I wanted and spoke to some of my own feelings. 

Eliza Clark is now an author who I will read anything she writes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Addiction, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault