Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang

5 reviews

emilywemily6's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

In some ways, this book gave more than I expected, and in other ways, it didn’t quite fulfill what I was hoping for while I was reading. I really liked the conversations on the cosmetic industry, European standards of beauty, the privileges afforded to the privileged, etc. However, there is a lot jammed into this book, and by the end I felt a little unfulfilled in these discussions and plot points that could have gone farther than they did. Also, the main character’s lack of awareness/acceptance of the changes she went through was irksome. If I was suddenly 6 inches taller I would have been startled and run away from Holistik, for one thing, let alone all the other things that happened. She also felt so bad about her relationship with her parents but did nothing to truly fix it or come to terms with it. So I wasn’t a huge fan of the main character. I also felt like the book was over-sexualized. While this novel gave me a lot to think about, it won’t be quite a favorite.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Alcohol, Grief, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Bullying, Death, Cursing, Medical content, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Drug use, Gore, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Miscarriage, Infertility, Pregnancy, Cannibalism, Car accident, and Animal cruelty

spicyspookypotato's review

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Drug use, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Body horror, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Dementia, Death of parent, Death, Car accident, Animal cruelty, Violence, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Sexual violence, Classism, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury

jaiari12's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Animal death, Grief, Body horror, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Racism, Rape, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Gore, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

simplyammee's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Body horror, Body shaming, Car accident, Drug use, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, and Vomit

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Rape, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Murder

mermaidsherbet's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Violence, Gaslighting, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual assault

Minor: Infertility, Murder, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Animal death, Bullying, Cannibalism, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Classism, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Stalking, Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide, and Toxic relationship