Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land

7 reviews

miarae's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Child abuse, Torture, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Grief, Blood, Child death, Kidnapping, Murder, and Gaslighting

alicegriff7's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Death, Drug use, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Rape

sophiemartin's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Grief, Alcohol, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Addiction, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Self harm, Mental illness, Rape, Pedophilia, Murder, Body horror, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Forced institutionalization

melsiss14's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.0

Darker than I anticipated due to the nature of the crimes. I should have checked trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Self harm

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I have had this book on my shelf for years, and I believe I originally heard about this title from BooksandLala.
This story follows Milly, a teenage girl whose mother has kidnapped and murdered several children. Milly has turned her mother in and is staying at her psychologist's home while she awaits trial to testify against her mother. She is the only one who has the concrete, eyewitness testimony to have her mother convicted. Milly is conflicted because she wants to love her mother and protect her, but she knows that her mother did horrible things and needs to be punished. Milly is also concerned because what if she becomes just like her mother, Afterall, she was groomed to be a part of these twisted games.
 

I think this story explores the idea of nature versus nurture in an interesting way. Although Milly's mom is the villain and the one on trial, Milly is not entirely innocent herself. The story really raises the question of whether we can forgive heinous acts if the person "does not know better"? Also, how can we prove that the person "does not know better"? Milly is struggling to come to terms with the fact she did the right thing, and her inner turmoil is impeccably written. I also very much enjoyed how Milly's new "sister" for a moment is seemingly evil, and how Milly reacts to her. Their interactions paint the perfect picture of Milly's state of mind.
Although I think the ending of the book was well done and stayed true to Milly's character, it was not what I wanted to see happen. I wanted more of a redemption arc for her. 

 
Overall, I enjoyed this debut, and I would read more from Ali Land in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Murder, Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Death

emilyswift's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

This was amazing! The book kept me gripped and I never knew what was coming next. It was an amazing ride and definitely wasn’t too disturbing which some novels are. I think that the portrayal of english teenagers was really accurate and not cringe. Such an incredible read I would recommend to anyone who loves mystery, suspense and plot twists!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Child abuse, Violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Drug use

taymarie6's review against another edition

dark 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? No

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Kidnapping