Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

148 reviews

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

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challenging 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? Yes

4.0

Everyone in this story is so disturbed (positive for the thriller). Heads up, though the violence to the victims but especially self harm is very graphic. If you have triggers about self harm especially cutting, please take that seriously into consideration before reading. 

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leebass7's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

5.0

Loved this, I never felt like I knew what was going to happen.

Brilliant depiction of Camille’s toxic relationship with her mother. The manipulation and the subtle digs felt true to life. Darkly funny at points with the outrageous things her mother would say to provoke her.

The plot never dragged and the audiobook was narrated well.



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beverytender's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75


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absolutechaos's review

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Wow this book hits you in the kneecaps. It leaves you feeling slimy and wrong on the inside, which is what a lot of people want from the genre and almost certainly what Flynn wanted to achieve, so she nailed it there. The atmosphere is unsettling, upsetting, and sickening. I mean it as a compliment. 
The synopsis of the book made me think it would be a mystery, but it’s more focused on our protagonist, Camille. It’s an examination of her childhood, patterns of self harm, and her fractured family dynamics. As a sucker for stories about generational trauma, I loved this aspect. Camille’s mother is a striking character and I enjoyed her presence in the book. 
Honestly the reason this has three stars is that it personally isn’t for me. I didn’t enjoy the repeated descriptions of sexual assault of children. It had its place in the book, but wasn’t part of its core and so at times, it felt like the author was aiming for shock value more than anything. I personally would have preferred the book have a bit more restraint, as it’s throughout the whole book repeatedly and I think less could have been more here.  But this isn’t my genre of choice and I get that a lot of people find this element compelling and raw. 
Don’t read this book if you’re squeamish and if you have any major triggers, please check if the book has them. It does not hold back. 

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itzbrianna's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad
  • 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

5.0

I initially picked up this book because I had finished the tv series on HBO, and heard how it stayed true to the source material while making little changes. Personally, I enjoyed the book more. (The show is phenomenal if that says anything).

Sharp Objects is a classic tale of a dysfunctional family plagued by death and Camille coming back home after being estranged from her mother, step father, and half sister sets a tone for how this story will end. 

Flynn never fails to bring descriptions to life and characters to fruition throughout the plot. The whole time you’re wondering who could be so cruel as to murder two preteen girls in such a gruesome way? And you slowly begin to place the pieces of a very disturbing realization of who did it. 

The book wraps up the story beautifully and makes you ask the right questions throughout. One thing I really loved about this book was how Camille’s relationship with her hometown changes from beginning to end. This is a story that will stay with you long after it ends. 

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isabellelle_11's review against another edition

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

4.75


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itsjadenbaby's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Righ in the middle. Not bad, not great. Guessed the ending from very early on, but the journey wasn’t in vain just because I already knew.

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crpettit's review against another edition

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Absolutely disgusted with how sexualized the 13 year old girls are. It's not like the narrator consistently speaks against this sexualization, she even takes part in it, when she speaks of her 13 year old sister's body, calling it perfect. There are times this is basically child porn. 

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madelinekramer2021's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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livbeveridge's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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

2.0

This book was such a let down. I loved gone girl and thought I’d be just satisfied with this one … I was wrong. I had already guessed the “twist” and who the murderer was so there was no surprise there and the reveal/end was so subpar. On top of that I couldn’t like or connect to a single character even Camille who we are meant to root for. A lacklustre whodunnit that uses vulgar and stomach churning imagery to try to cover up its flaws.

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