Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey

14 reviews

alindeman's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

God this book was heart wrenching. A brutal read, really. I think what was so hard about this book is knowing that this isn’t fiction, not really. I have no doubt that there are countless “mind your business” small towns like Pantown, where evil goes unchecked and everyone turns a blind eye. I also have even less doubt that there are plenty of men out there just like this book. I hope they rot in hell.
CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Drug use, Violence, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Alcohol, Murder, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Confinement, Sexual assault, and Infidelity

Minor: Suicide

erafact's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Confinement, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Religious bigotry, and Rape

ghoulpilotfinn's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.75

The Quarry Girls is about "the sprint from girl to woman", about how the second girls hit puberty they are in danger, about objectification, about r*pe culture, about patriarchy. It's also inspired by the serial killings that happened in Lourey's hometown in the 70s.

Very heavy subjects in this book. TWs for (a lot of) SA, r*pe (offscreen), p*dophilia, kidnapping, violence towards women and children, police.

That being said, this book is a page-turner. I probably would've finished it in a day if life permitted. The characters are so well written, every one of them having so much depth to them. The atmosphere building is impeccable. The suspense made it hard to set the book down. Despite the heavy subjects, scenes and TWs, Lourey somehow manages to never take those scenes too far.

My few issues with the book:
1. The descriptions however of some of the girls went too far at times imo. Even through Heather's POV, the descriptions of the other girls, especially of her 12yo sister Junie, seemed overly sexualized and made me uncomfortable.

2. The vibe change between the resolution and conclusion of the book was so drastic, it almost felt rushed. (ending spoilers)

Don't get me wrong, it was a beautiful and thankfully good ending, but going from an entire book of "you can't trust anyone, not the cops, not even your own family" to "let's trust the non-local cop" then "we're now certain everything is good and we're safe" felt almost ironic. The resolution went so fast, like Constance and Gloria making up after years of not talking then moving in together all within a few paragraphs. It felt very "Hollywood movie that needs to have a perfect happy ending or else it won't get approved" (if that makes sense). I don't know, it was at both a relief to see these girls feel safe for the first time yet disappointing because it felt unrealistic considering the rest of the story.

Conclusion: good book, don't trust cis men, know your self-defense, and fucking raise your sons right. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Grief, Child abuse, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Death, Sexual assault, Murder, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Rape, Medical content, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

emmalizzz's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This was such a fun listen to kick off warmer weather! It’s faced paced and once it starts it does not slow down. I love the dual POV and it leads to a really exciting scene towards the end of the book! The plot twist is a tad predictable, but didn’t make it any less enjoyable. The main character, Heather, and her friends remind me of my friends and I growing up in a small town, and while they can all be dumb and frustrating sometimes, they’re easy to love. The creep factor was definitely upped with the addition of the mining tunnels connecting all of the houses and there are some really disturbing visuals, which of course is what I’m here for. Overall an easy, quick, enticing story that gives you all of the spooky summer small town feels!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Police brutality, and Rape

Moderate: Alcohol, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, and Murder

jenlindeman's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Murder, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

smkelly1997's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Tragic. Beautiful. Beautifully tragic. There is no other way to describe this book. Heather has you rooting for her from day one as you watch her world change around her. She’s strong, brave, and terrified but willing to stand up for those she loves. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Violence

abookandaspotoftea's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Confinement, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Murder, Rape, and Chronic illness

jaydub0221's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Stalking, Confinement, Child death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Cursing, Murder, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Blood

morganw33's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping

stewartj0421's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

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

5.0

What an outstanding, gut wrenching read from start to finish. There is not a single complaint I have about this book. It presents itself as a thriller novel about kidnap and murder, yet there is an underlying social commentary that is both poignant and shockingly relevant despite the book being set in the 1970. I was touched to my core by this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Mental illness, Blood, and Confinement

Moderate: Stalking, Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Rape, Grief, and Drug use

Minor: Suicide attempt