Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Girl A by Abigail Dean

33 reviews

the_escapist's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

annabulkowski's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

paigeandpagesx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, and Torture

notlilyburke's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad 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? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

taylor95's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

talimirek's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? No

4.0

The story is told from the perspective of Girl A - the eldest daughter who escaped the House of Horrors and freed her siblings. The New York lawyer (Girl A) has been made executor of her Mother’s will and must visit her siblings and return to her childhood to move forward with her life. I don’t want to give too much away as I believe it is more satisfying to just read and discover for yourself. Through the constant flashbacks which can at first be confusing, the childhood abuse and the aftermath of the psychological trauma are very carefully represented. It is an incredibly intense and disturbing book which I finished in just two sessions as I couldn’t peel myself away. There is well crafted and deeply layered characterisation which shows how complex each character is and the unusual sibling dynamics are made clearer as more secrets are revealed. The author intended this book to be more about hope rather than ‘did they get out or not?’ which it has an excellent representation of even more so after the last chapter which admittedly crushed my soul. I recommend checking the TW’s if you feel the content could be triggering. A very dark, twisted and emotional book that is not for the lighthearted readers.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

stephybara's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Child death and Torture

mrsrjg's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This book was just ok but it felt a bit like there was something missing and I'm not sure I can quite put my finger on what. 

It was a quick enough read but the chapters focused on one child each so it made them a bit too long which felt it drag sometimes. I also felt the paragraph time changes were a bit jarring, like there were times when you would just be on the cusp of finding out what was going and it jumped to a different timeline; I just wanted her to get to the point. 

It was written quite well (although really grim, so if you're squeamish maybe not the book for you) and at times I had to remind myself that it wasn't real (although possibly inspired by some real life cases) as it came across very much like a memoir.

I felt the big reveal fell a bit flat which led up to the ending feeling a bit empty for me; the whole book felt a bit like a case of the chase being better than the actual reveal.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

laurenipsum's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

roselouisa's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Grief