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bgumlaw's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Excrement, and Grief
danimacuk's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, Excrement, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Incest, Mental illness, Vomit, and Car accident
dklaver's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
add_a_little_spook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity
lunababybat's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
I think Jack did a good job of trying to understand what would lead relatively normal people to participate in this type of extreme behavior against another human being. The slow dehumanization of someone led by an authority figure, how someone can become a proverbial punchingbag that's a stand in for all of life's failures. It also delves into how misogyny helps in this dehumanizing, letting Meg be seen as a "whore" and nothing but a piece of meat, even though the real issues is everyone else's inappropriate feelings towards her. Ruth is the ultimate villian and honestly got off too easy in the end. She hated herself and sought to find someone to project that hate onto, so she didn't have to face what a true monster she really was inside.
There are some issues with the writing, and some of the language is definitely outdated, even for a book written in the 80s and set in the 50s. Overall, this is a chance for readers interested in true crime to dip their toes in the water before taking the plunge into the real cases. Because, at least in this instance, there is at least one person who does feel bad about what they did.
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Excrement, Death of parent, and Alcohol
jillian_hope02's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
madelinequinnee's review against another edition
- 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
I picked up this book after researching the Sylvia Likens’ case and finding out this was based on it. I think this did a pretty good job fictionalising the case whilst still educating you on what happened.
Each scene was absolutely gripping and disturbing, but i think the thing that got me the most was that Meg’s younger sister Susan had to witness her sister’s abuse and was physically unable to do anything about it. She was there til the very end, even witnessing her death, and that just really broke my heart.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
oktrouble1401213's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and Murder
killmoore_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
However, despite being well written and truly gut wrenching, I feel that Ketchum missed the mark on painting a true monster in Ruth. I understand that this is written through the eyes of a child, but it really just skims the surface on what motivates a person to commit these atrocities, let alone the impact a trusted adults actions have on the children in their care.
Girl Next Door is awful. It is a gruesome depiction of child abuse, grief and depravity, written in a way that is still palatable for the general public. Check your trigger warnings and prepare to have your heart broken.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
rachelunabridged's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
i actually went back and forth about this book for a while before deciding how i wanted to handle this review. i don't feel good about rating on the basis of content because this is basically a true story, so i've decided to rate based purely on the writing itself. i think the author did an amazing job with telling the story. he was able to capture the terrifying events without allowing it to creep into exploitation. it felt like he was very respectful of the source, and i liked that in the acknowledgements at the end, he seemed as infuriated about it as i did.
additionally, i really enjoyed his style. he writes in a very straight forward + to-the-point manner that reminded me a lot of stephen king. this was my first read by the author, but i'll definitely be checking out more of his work in the future!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Murder