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A review by _inge
Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The way the suspense builds up, is so well done. Found this a hard one to put down! Before going into this, do be aware that some scenes involve kidnapping, mentions of sexual abuse and lots of other kinds of abuse, misogyny, racism, violence against women, child neglect/abuse and disturbing scenes of pregnancy.
Initially the book focuses on how ‘strange’ Sally is. Her dad claims if she’d be diagnosed she’d likely be autistic, but he never wanted her to be diagnosed as she’s ‘just a little odd’ she’s not disabled (not an exact quote, but something along those lines). He also throws in some more stereotypes, about her not having empathy for instance. Gradually you realise Sally acts the way she does out of trauma, but many traits could be perceived as being autistic. She finds clothes itchy (although this suddenly isn’t an issue anymore later in this book?), has meltdowns over ‘minor’ things, and has a specific interest which helps her calm down. Initially you’re lead to believe Sally is ‘strange’ because she’s simply an autistic woman, but gradually you learn of her trauma. Autism therefore gets pushed to the background until gradually she’s just seen as a person working through her trauma. I therefore wish autism wasn’t brought up in this book at all. It served no purpose but instead reinforced stereotypes of autistic people. Lots of the ‘funnier’ scenes in this book are about Sally not understanding social cues, for instance. And it gives a sense that you can be cured if you just keep trying not to be. If autism hadn’t been mentioned at the start, Sally’s story would’ve made more sense to me.
So yeah, I ‘enjoyed’ the story, found the ending really satisfying as well actually and felt like it made sense for the characters. It was dark and gruesome, but some of the characters brought a ray of light with them which made it possible to keep reading. I just wish Sally’s character wouldn’t have been labelled as one way or another and that we could focus on her PTSD instead.
Initially the book focuses on how ‘strange’ Sally is. Her dad claims if she’d be diagnosed she’d likely be autistic, but he never wanted her to be diagnosed as she’s ‘just a little odd’ she’s not disabled (not an exact quote, but something along those lines). He also throws in some more stereotypes, about her not having empathy for instance. Gradually you realise Sally acts the way she does out of trauma, but many traits could be perceived as being autistic. She finds clothes itchy (although this suddenly isn’t an issue anymore later in this book?), has meltdowns over ‘minor’ things, and has a specific interest which helps her calm down. Initially you’re lead to believe Sally is ‘strange’ because she’s simply an autistic woman, but gradually you learn of her trauma. Autism therefore gets pushed to the background until gradually she’s just seen as a person working through her trauma. I therefore wish autism wasn’t brought up in this book at all. It served no purpose but instead reinforced stereotypes of autistic people. Lots of the ‘funnier’ scenes in this book are about Sally not understanding social cues, for instance. And it gives a sense that you can be cured if you just keep trying not to be. If autism hadn’t been mentioned at the start, Sally’s story would’ve made more sense to me.
So yeah, I ‘enjoyed’ the story, found the ending really satisfying as well actually and felt like it made sense for the characters. It was dark and gruesome, but some of the characters brought a ray of light with them which made it possible to keep reading. I just wish Sally’s character wouldn’t have been labelled as one way or another and that we could focus on her PTSD instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Police brutality, Suicide attempt