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zoeygrey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Rape, Alcoholism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Pedophilia
Minor: Mass/school shootings, Body shaming, Outing, Death, and Drug use
signeskov's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Mass/school shootings, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Grief, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Self harm, Rape, Outing, Murder, Kidnapping, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Sexism, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Blood
caroisreading's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
"Penance" focuses on the perspectives of four teen girls, schoolmates at a small coastal town in England. They are, at varying degrees, involved in the gruesome demise of Joni, a fellow student in their class.
The layer on top of this plot is that we are reading the POV of a fictional author who has interviewed the characters and researched Joni's case. He's an unreliable narrator to say the least. It's Inception-y, and lets us sit at a distance from the horror, like a sobering buffer.
With this in mind, Clark plays with our sense of what is real and what is not. I found myself Googling events that were completely fictional, though there are references to real platforms, psychopaths, books and a school shooting. This disorients you as a reader, and mimics the delusion and untruthiness taking place with the characters, and true crime in general.
What definitely feels real are the Tumblr posts, and the fangirls who idolize and fictionalize mass murderers. Clark spends a lot of time illustrating this world, and we sit in the discomfort for a while. It's a paradoxically naive and dark place.
I should add, the author purposefully avoids going into specifics of what these characters physically do to Joni
After assessing the TWs, I recommend this book as dark, brutal, engaging read with the most well-crafted characters I've ever come across. Keep reminding yourself it's fiction, but not really.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mass/school shootings, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Eating disorder, Incest, Death of parent, Homophobia, Gore, Rape, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Vomit
arayo's review against another edition
- 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
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
4.5
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
sophie______a's review against another edition
- 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
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
em815ily's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Outing, Suicide, Torture, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Violence, Bullying, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Self harm, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Body shaming
nialystic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Child death, Toxic friendship, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Rape, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Torture, Classism, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Self harm, Stalking, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Sexual harassment, and Outing
laran_s's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Torture, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Vomit, Suicide, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Ableism, and Classism
darlingsterns's review against another edition
5.0
content warnings: Spoiler arson, murder, torture, blood/gore, sexual assault (mentions), pedophilia, rape of a child (past), school shooting/massacre (past), necrophilia (mentions), bullying (graphic), body shaming, humiliation, toxic relationships/friendships, manipulation, violence, cutting, self-harm jokes, Holocaust joke, homophobia/lesbophobia, homophobic slurs, ableist language, racism, classism, outing, abortion (mention), miscarriage (mention), drug/alcohol use
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Outing, Toxic friendship, Torture, Physical abuse, Bullying, Murder, Violence, and Body shaming
Moderate: Drug use, Sexism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Racism, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Rape, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Antisemitism, Abortion, and Miscarriage