Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

My Sweet Girl by Amanda Jayatissa

7 reviews

tammyanntchou's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Blood

Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol, Death, Mental illness, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicide attempt, Car accident, Death of parent, Racism, Self harm, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Child death, and Sexual content

cc_shelflove's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is a book that I am going to be thinking about for a while. Paloma is a 30-year-old woman who was adopted at a young age from a Sri Lankan orphanage to the idyllic Californian family. Her dream would finally be fulfilled. She would come to America and live a life better than she could have ever imagined. Told in alternating timelines, the reader gets glimpses of Paloma's current dealings in California and her life at the orphanage. One thing the reader finds out quickly, though: Paloma is fucking nuts. The woman is batshit crazy! She is even more unhinged than Yellowface's June Hayward. I was hooked from the first chapter as she mixed an alcoholic beverage with her prescription medication. Sounds like a good idea, right? Bad things begin happening to those around Paloma, she thinks she has stalkers, she tries to dodge her therapist... the list goes on and on. She was a train wreck that I could not look away from. Did someone really follow her from Sri Lanka to seek revenge all these years later, or is Paloma simply losing it?

I will admit that in reading this book, I identified reasons why it might not be for everyone. We cannot believe much of Paloma's recollections due to her drinking habits (think The Girl on the Train). I personally love an unreliable narrator! 🥃 Additionally, the word 'fuck' appears seemingly on every page. This did not take away from the story for me, but I know it could be bothersome to some. If you want to read about a chick who swears a lot and loses her marbles, pick this up. The ending was soooooooooooooo worth it. 🤯

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Self harm, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Stalking

Minor: Miscarriage

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

The plot of this book is compelling and finding out what happened in Sri Lanka that led Paloma to the life she has in California drove my desire to keep reading. That said, Paloma is very, very unlikeable. So detestable that had it not been for an intriguing plot, I probably wouldn’t have finished the book. She treats everyone like garbage and is only concerned about herself. There is no growth or change over the course of the novel. She’s just mean. The twists and turns of the novel do, in some ways, make up for the faults of the protagonist though. All in all, it was a fun read that kept me on my toes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Car accident, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Death of parent, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

thedrolldiaries's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Ooo this was a good one! A dark, sinister, Sri Lankan-inspired twist on

Jane Eyre

!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Violence, Addiction, and Abandonment

delphine_'s review against another edition

funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

 

Much like in the other book I read from Amanda Jayatissa, it seems like she can't help but ruin a really good book by going too far into the horrifying. I don't mean horror as in spooky, or disturbing existential dread - there's plenty of that in this book and it worked really well and I was entirely into it.

What I mean is this book made me discover I needed some trigger warnings I didn't know I needed. Some things never, never ever, need be this graphic. Or maybe they do if you really want true, unadulterated, experience of things that do happen in real life and that are just as revolting. They, maybe successfully, made me feel ill and violated and absolutely not okay. The way I see it, alluding to them is plenty. Especially as a device to make us understand how horrible someone's situation was.

Much like in You're Invited, it just seems gratuitous and too much.

I'm starting with what will unfortunately stay my main takeaway for this book that I otherwise really liked and that offered a fascinating take on another one of Jayatissa's tricks, but a positive one: the unreliable narrator. We watch Paloma sink helplessly into her vices, unable to stop her as she makes bad decisions, unable to help her as things unravel. Supernatural forces or too much to drink? The characters around her are no less mysterious and you'll find yourself, too, in a haze of distrust for everybody. I really enjoyed the read and the end still had me invested again as Jayatissa arfully kept things ambiguous until she wanted us to know. I loved predicting practically nothing that happened. Only one plot point, and I thought I was so smart for it.

I'm really sad about this one part that truly left a sour, ugly taste in my mind for a book I had no reason not to love. After all, there's a reason I picked up this book after reading another one from the author. But before I pick up another one, I'll dutifully read the trigger warnings and know that when it comes to Jayatissa, graphic means GRAPHIC. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Stalking and Murder

Minor: Racism, Death of parent, and Death

bookishcookiemonster's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Wow! Unreliable narrator, also very unlikeable but the plot gripped me. Could not hit pause ! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Stalking, Death of parent, Rape, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body horror, Blood, and Child abuse

Minor: Cultural appropriation and Car accident

Very explicit sexual assault scene

ohhthehorrors's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Stalking