Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Pageboy by Elliot Page

97 reviews

pearlisarobot's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Hate crime, Abandonment, Bullying, Stalking, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Lesbophobia, Dysphoria, and Cursing

Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use

Minor: Pedophilia

lqne's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Stalking

Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, and Body shaming

Minor: Deadnaming, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This was the memoir I didn’t know I needed in my life. Elliot Page’s reflections contained so much Canadian content that I haven’t seen in many books, and loved being able to recognize so many places or cultural touchstones growing up in a similar era. Memoirs are an incredible format to let people in to your lived experiences and takes a lot of courage to write and share. That is no exception in this memoir, and I appreciate the rawness, vulnerability and emotional honesty that Page expresses. I think that if you liked I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy, you’ll enjoy Page’s memoir and his reflections on the entertainment industry, challenging family dynamics, mental well-being, love, and finding and expressing one’s identity in the spotlight.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual content, Dysphoria, Torture, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Stalking, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

Minor: Alcohol

starwitness's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Drug use

hdhreads's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Stalking

justkyliep's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

Reading this was a pretty interesting experience. A good one and one I was happy to have had, but...? In many ways, this memoir was exactly what I expected. It was almost comedic how easily I could guess which movies had been most impactful to Page and had the best sets/casts. And of course, coming out stories are only so many flavors of the same feelings. None of this is bad, and I was happy with the quality of the writing and the journey.

What caught me off guard was how bleak this memoir could be—easily comparable to I'm Glad My Mom Died. I like when things are truthful and I don't mind reading something depressing, but I was definitely unprepared. While I'm happy I took the time to read this, I'm definitely just as happy to be finished. I'm happy Elliot is past those chapters in his life as well. I hope his life doesn't require a second memoir like this, but I'd love to see him write again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Transphobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Homophobia, Eating disorder, and Drug use

epellicci's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

3.0

Mixed feelings about this one.

I found the narrative of the book all over the place. It was really difficult to keep track of the people and places in Elliot Page's life because the timeline jumped back and forth, and he takes tangents about history and environment which I wasn't sure I understood the relevance of. The book is also really quite graphic at times. Given the personal topic, and how low Page's mental health has been I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but it was shocking non-the-less.

Despite this, I truly admire the strength and courage that went into writing Pageboy. It is so vulnerable and yet also celebratory, and I would imagine intensely comforting to someone who may be going through questioning their gender identity or the potentially daunting process of transitioning. The book has such an authentic feel, and is a testimony to the value of finding your people and of visibility. 

Page has put in some serious work to begin healing from trauma and shame, and it felt like a privilege to be invited to witness some of that journey. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Transphobia, Mental illness, Body horror, Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Homophobia

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Stalking

Minor: Religious bigotry and Suicidal thoughts

starrfishandcoffee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Not only is the story of his life (so far) remarkable, but he is also an incredibly talented writer (which is more than I can say for some actors who write memoirs). Highly recommend the audio version, it puts even more heart into his words. This memoir is often heartbreaking and Elliott’s experiences as trans person are unfortunately all too familiar. I loved him before and love him so much more after this gift of a book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Child abuse

elijah__'s review against another edition

medium-paced

3.5

While I have some criticisms, I do want to start by saying I respect Elliot Page and don't think this book was bad. It's worth a read.
It's hard not to compare this book to I'm Glad My Mom Died, which is written in a similar voice, is another memoir by an actor, and shares several themes and topics -- and, frankly, McCurdy is simply the better writer. When Page jumps back and forth between periods of his life, it doesn't feel intentional or logical; while stories need not be presented in chronological order to be understood, the jumps are constant and confusing in Pageboy, as Page often leaves little to no indication that the setting has changed. While two editors are credited, I felt that the novel could've been combed over and cleaned up a bit more thoroughly. It feels like a friend telling you a convoluted, twisting story -- with all the errors and confusions that entails -- but with flowery language and metaphor thrown in, often without an apparent benefit to the prose.
That being said, I think the bones of a good memoir are present; Page has lived an interesting life and has interesting things to say about the film industry, love, and queerness, even if I don't think these things are expressed as well as they could be.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Rape, Bullying, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Misogyny

hmetwade's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Transphobia