Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Sign Here by Claudia Lux

17 reviews

esme_may's review

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Infidelity, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Body horror, Torture, Suicide, Bullying, Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Abortion, War, Car accident, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Medical content

lela's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I don't think this book is marketed very well - I was expecting more of a darkly funny supernatural story, and while there were aspects of that (some real funny characters in hell) it was mostly a family mystery. So overall it was a fine book (not a lot of character depth but I thought the pacing was excellent for a debut novel) but not something that's really in my wheelhouse. 
I did like that there were some parts of the mystery you could work out for yourself while still having some surprising twists

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Body shaming, and Violence

Minor: Drug use and Suicide

javablue's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

I feel like the big reveal she wanted us to understand that tied it all together was either too subtle and we missed it or it didn’t exist at all. It was a difficult read and I don’t feel like it came together in a gratifying way that made it worth it in the end. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming and Toxic friendship

crweber25's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

I loved the concept of hell, and peyote, and the systems in place. I didn't care for the Harrison's story, except in the way that it tied into peyotes plot line. I also think I misunderstood the summary and thought this would be funnier in overall tone. There were a lot of witty jokes that I enjoyed, but I didn't realize that this wasnt a comedy overall. 
Overall this was written well, and it kept me reading even when I discovered it wasn't quite what I had anticipated.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Violence, Death, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, and Torture

Moderate: Suicide, Child death, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Body shaming

cheezh8er's review against another edition

dark emotional funny medium-paced

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

3.5

This was a fun and engaging version of hell! The prose was surprisingly poignant, although a bit flowery at times. My one main issue is that the two story lines felt very disconnected through most of the book, almost being two completely different stories. There were certainly times I really couldn't bring myself to care about the high school drama and wanted to get back to exploring the underworld. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Body shaming, Bullying, Self harm, Suicide, Child abuse, Alcohol, Cursing, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Torture, Sexism, Grief, Death, and Drug abuse

Minor: Car accident, Child death, Death of parent, and Gun violence

monstersinspace's review

dark funny sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed the subtext of the book and I found the character's flawrd but likeable. I will admit I was confused a lot about what was going on and who was talking in since it jumped time and place so often. I think it falls into the same issue a lot of time travel adjacent stories do where if you think about them long enough they are nothing but paradox so its best to take the story at face value. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Alcohol, Self harm, and Death

Moderate: Gaslighting, Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Infidelity

thatswhatshanread's review

challenging mysterious medium-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

3.0

It took me SEVEN MONTHS to finish this novel. There are many reasons why:

1. From BOTM’s description and the book’s general marketing, I fully expected this to be a horror/thriller. It was not. It was more just a family drama with a supernatural sort-of twist with half of the book’s POV set in literal Hell.
2. Every time I picked this book up to read it over the last several months, I was bored. The first half of the book seems like it’s going NOWHERE and nothing stuck. The storyline that follows Peyote in Hell seems completely irrelevant to the storyline in present day that follows The Harrison family.
3. But then, it finally picks up. Once I finally pushed myself to get more into it (after almost DNFing many times), something shifted. The stakes changed. Suddenly the Harrison family story is dysfunctional and mysterious and gripping. The Peyote storyline shows potential of intersecting with the other, some interesting twists come about.
4. Still, it’s confusing. I still have no idea how they will connect, just that now Peyote is actually referencing the Harrison family members and their dilemmas. 
5. Peyote and Cal’s plot becomes even more confusing and drawn out. But I’m very intrigued with the POVs from the Harrisons’ side. 
6. I finish the last 250 pages within a couple days. The pacing finally hit a sweet spot for me. The imminent ending seemed promising; everything would finally make sense.
7. Except… it wasn’t? And it didn’t? 

This really felt like two different books in one. In the end, I was still confused, and disappointed in all of that buildup to… what, exactly? I would have rather read about only The Harrisons. But I guess it was entertaining, nonetheless. Something different. Just maybe not the different I wanted it to be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Blood, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Violence, Cursing, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Confinement, Body shaming, Genocide, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Cancer, Child death, Pedophilia, Sexism, and Stalking

aformeracceleratedreader's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25

Super interesting concept but the writing could get confusing/convoluted. 
I liked following the inhabitants of hell in the form of office workers and learning how to make it through/climb the ladder through hell. The human side of the story was interesting at some parts but not my favorite perspective/parts of the book. I preferred following the Pey and Cal side much more than the Harrison's side of the story.
The ending was a bit of a letdown for me though. It wasn't a bad ending per se, but it just wasn't super fulfilling to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Self harm, Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

abookandaspotoftea's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Murder, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Body shaming, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Bullying

Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Murder, and Gun violence

krisalexcole's review

dark medium-paced

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

1.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Pedophilia, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Eating disorder, Sexual content, Alcohol, Self harm, Murder, Physical abuse, Drug use, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Suicide

Minor: Abortion, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Abandonment, Blood, and Body shaming