Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Girls by Emma Cline

50 reviews

lavieenrose's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Ableism, and Body shaming

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Sexual content

sm_moon's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse

saowahreads's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

4.75

i thought this was a really good easy beach read. knew about the manson family prior so it was interesting to see emma cline build on the existing murders. i enjoyed the author’s writing style i thought it was really easy to read and understand. in conclusion i really enjoyed this book  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Death, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, and Drug abuse

Minor: Blood, Child abuse, and Child death

sabr111na's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia

ehernandez's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Drug abuse

frankie_reads2's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

ellaaj's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-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

3.0

This book is poetically written and often describes very ugly things in a beautiful way but at times, this feels too much. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Abortion, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

vicanarc_'s review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Trafficking, and Violence

earlgaytea711's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-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

4.0

 One of my goals this year is to read a bit more widely which is what had me pick up The Girls by Emma Cline from Libby this month. This is definitely not a book I usually read but I enjoyed it. I do have some rather mixed feelings about it overall though.

The way characters were written in this novel was so interesting. They were flawed and yet idolized by the main character. Evie, the main character, is obsessed with how people interact and it shows in the writing. In the way Cline can weave together the broken mind space of a 14 year old dealing with a lot. 

The story itself was dark but still managed to draw me in which is not an easy feat. I’ve been listening to a podcast about Cults lately and this fit right in with my current mood considering the entire novel is about Evie’s obsession with a Manson inspired cult. I think Cline did a good job of showcasing enough of the violence and ominous moments within the cult without using those kinds of things for shock value.

I had to go on a journey with the writing itself. While I think Cline’s writing is beautiful, it is also generally not a style I like. It’s full of sentence fragments and over description of scenery. It definitely sets the tone and works for this novel but it was difficult for me to get into the story at first. I spent the entire first 40% of the book considering putting it down and listing it as DNF. I think that was partly the writing style and partly the very slow beginning. Cline spends about the first 40% setting up the premise. 

Small spoilers ahead, skip to the next  paragraph if you’d like to avoid them.

I’ve noticed people seem to have gripes about the story flipping between the past and the present. However, I found these flips helpful. They were a reminder that even if dark, Evie makes it through. But I also thought they were good at showing how that experience permanently altered her and she’ll never be able to get that back.

This read was very outside my comfort zone and I’m so glad I decided to read it. I enjoyed seeing things from Evie’s perspective and also realizing that in cults there are always people on the outskirts who’s stories don’t necessarily get told. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

honestlyholly's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This would have been an easy 4 star, but I think the sections of the book in the present day were a little pointless. I'd have liked them to be more about how her life turned out, how it affected her adulthood rather than the weird random dynamic with the young couple and their friend. I think it just took away from the building plot in 1969.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Murder, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content