Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Τα κορίτσια by Emma Cline

28 reviews

geesammy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

2.75

 why was this 14yr old girl so lost and making such morally ambiguous choices?  Just to belong and be seen?  She never developed her own sense of self, dignity, decency or even hygiene….the idea that she questioned whether she would have stopped them is laughable …she clearly would not have.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

plumdustsuns's review against another edition

challenging dark sad 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

1.0

I think Cline is a really talented writer and has a way with words that you come across only once in a while within books. I had picked up this book going off of some prompt/review saying it was about a lesbian and a cult. While that isn’t wrong, it didn’t quite encapsulate the entirety of the situation either. 
I think personally the book would have profited a lot from Evie being upwards of 17. While it would have taken away a bit of the hopeless lamb, but it wouldn’t have been that much. I think it would have lent to Evie and Suzanne’s relationship and Evie’s character in general.

There wasn’t much going on in their relationship besides Evie pining, not until Suzanne let Evie out of the car and visited her at boarding school, was some texture added. It would have made a more engaging story to have Suzanne a bit more fleshed out and receptive rather than this idealized character Evie was projecting everything onto. And the ‘connection’ she kept talking about in terms of her and Suzanne would have been justified and engaging. 
  Aside from that, all the SA on a 14 year old and this  promiscuity put upon them in literature makes me really uneasy and angry, honestly. I don’t think teenagers are ever that deliberate of sex in the way it’s presented in books like this. While it is shown that Evie is forced into it, it’s played off for the most part by her being like “oh well,” until the Mitch situation. Even that didn’t have enough anger or was presented in a bad light. I’m always aware in books of what writers project onto their characters and of what age because it is a choice, and not inspired off of true events ( entirely here anyway). 
I also found it really redundant that all of this happened over a fucking record deal. I wish it was something else and the bad blood between Russel and Mitch had more weight and tension, especially for the girls. (I read up and see  this is what happened in real life but just copy pasting these events without much of a weight or exploration just feels like a waste and triggering for no reason.) I wish it would have subverted the tale by instead having the girls turn on Russel somehow and kill him instead. That would have made a better story line.

 
I kept reading this book as it had a premise for having the opportunity to explore queerness, girlhood and the patriarchy in depth. However, besides from some insightfully written paragraphs on what it is like to be a girl, it feels rather flat in all the other departments. And it felt rather disappointing to finish this triggering book to get through with all the events just falling flat onto nothing overall and by the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

_eleanorgreen8_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

4.25

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - i read it in 3 days and it had me gripped from the start. Cline's writing is so poetic, beautifully capturing feelings and setting, and always delving deep into every character. i felt it was the perfect mix of concise and intricate. i also found the main character relatable in lots of ways, and felt i could understand all her thoughts and emotions. perhaps i was hoping for more plot twists, as you could see almost everything coming, but maybe that was intentional. overall a really dark but stunning read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Sexual content

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcohol

helenamichelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Gaslighting, and Classism

thesecretsapphic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

itsheyfay's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Evie, please go see a therapist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Blood, Abandonment, and Alcohol

hannahlouise_'s review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

3.25

i for the most part enjoyed this book and read it quickly but it was lacking in parts and i didn’t hugely connect? well written and a really interesting concept, the iconic California 1969 based on Manson murders etc, but i did feel it could have been executed better.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

elizlizabeth's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

The first two parts are a bit slower, more of an internal monologue and a couple reflections to frame Evie as a character, but the actual plot picks up from chapter 5-6 onwards and while I knew what was going to happen I was flying through it to find out when and how it would unfold. The narrator's voice was gritty and cynical which helps make the story feel a lot more immediate and makes it more obvious that Evie is still reeling with PTSD over the event.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Fatphobia and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal cruelty and Child abuse

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

The first couples pages of the book were over-the-top flowery language, and I wasn't sure if I was going to stick around, but it calmed down a little bit. I think the strongest parts were the descriptions of the very challenging time of pre-teen/early teenager-dom, when girls are really trying to just figure out how they fit into the world. I did not like the use of "Asiatic" to describe childlike banter - that feels.... not right and insulting to Asian languages. Just really unnecessary. I'm not sure if I'd read this author again because I might just not be able to get on her level of stuffed sentences. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Excrement, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Gaslighting

terrabby's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

2.0

No lo he odiado pero me lo habían hypeado mucho y me ha dejado bastante indiferente. El tema sectas me interesa más bien poco y tampoco creo que la parte psicológica que sería la más interesante se desarrolle demasiado. Parece un poco un collage de escenas morbosas con un toque de coming of age que en realidad para mi gusto es la única parte que vale la pena de la novela. Mucha gente dice que no le gusta la voz de Evie pero a mi me ha parecido bien, solo me hubiese gustado que me contase una historia diferente. Las partes de adulta me sobraban muchísimo. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail