Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

47 reviews

rae42's review against another edition

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

3.5

the dog dies

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Blood, and Car accident

Moderate: Body shaming and Death of parent

Minor: Mental illness, Dementia, Kidnapping, and Car accident

panon's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I put this down as a medium paced read because I cannot accurately depict it's rate. When I first picked up this book I literally couldn't put it down for two days straight, every spare moment was spent reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Eating disorder

rylin_marie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sobbing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

sailirpotter113's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I loved this book!!! It is tense and mysterious and the plot twist are unbelievable.
The characters are loveable an Ravi Singh is the perfect boyfriend... Pip is so determined and she never gives up on anything. It is my second favourite in the trilogy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing and Sexual violence

allyyy18's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

erinmasterson's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

2.0

So clearly a British author writing about an American town/high school. Very awkward dialogue, both intentional and unintentional. So much of it is so unbelievable. The language the characters use (“cheeky” and “fancy” when they’re supposed to be American), the poor attempt at grasping what high schoolers are actually like (what “cool” crowd would call parties “calamity parties” and then apparently forget only 5 years later). Just bizarre to read about high schoolers from the perspective of someone who clearly hasn’t stepped foot outside in several years.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use

bookishkale's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Fun read! I think I like YA for thriller/mysteries because it helps to keep things a little more lighthearted. I loved the formatting of this book, and honestly, would have liked it more if it was all in first person because Pip in her capstone entries is such a compelling character and sometimes when it was third person I felt like she was a bit muddled. It helped that Pip herself seemed aware that she didn’t really know who she was either, so I didn’t stress too much. The mystery was compelling, and I let myself be guiding by Pip, trying to not see too much into it. I wasn’t surprised by the ending but boy was it just kinda heartbreaking! Ravi was a great addition, and I’m a little weirded out by their romance bc of the ages but I can look past it :) I’m interested in the next book, and hoping that pip’s voice only gets stronger! 

Be wary of the content warnings: a lot of triggers aren’t really described in detail but they are mentioned a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

briab680's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Rape

Minor: Cursing

izzyreads13's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I personally thoroughly enjoyed this book. Based off of my rating scale it does not reach a 5 just because I feel as though 5’s for me are usually things I can reread and this being a mystery book doesn’t hit that mark for me. However, that does not take away from how good this book actually was.

It keeps you guessing and questioning things at every chapter  and even though I felt myself getting a little bored at the 50% mark due to no real discoveries being made I can proudly say the push to continue this book was truly worth it. The characters are lovable, the plot twists keep you on edge, there’s a bunch of “mouth wide open” moments and honestly, I really really enjoyed it. This was my first mystery book and it was more “light hearted” in the sense that the murder itself isn’t that grand, it’s not gore filled in any sense and it’s really good (imo) to ease into if you’re coming from a different genre (for me that being fantasy & romance). It opened up a new side of the book world and I’ll definitely look into the rest of the books in this trilogy.

I liked the way everything rounded out to make sense in the end, I felt as though nothing was missing, nothing left unanswered and it was a really satisfying end to a “keeping you on edge” book.

Like I previously mentioned there was a point where I wasn’t sure how I was feeling because the mystery itself didn’t seem to be going anywhere but trust when things start moving and being pieced together they really do start moving! I’d strongly recommend this book to anyone looking into wanting to stray mystery and any fans of criminal minds looking to solve a mystery because it really is one that you can follow and possibly find out on your own if you’re REALLY attentive. Either way the reveals of everything really do come together in a satisfying and fulfilling way. Overall, I couldn’t recommend this book enough, happy reading!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

vvsmydiamonds's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This novel was spectacular! All 387 pages had me hooked and leaning forward wondering, “what’s going to happen next?” I think AGGM is a masterclass in mystery writing! Despite the large cast of characters, Jackson ensured that everyone mentioned by name remained relevant— every single thread introduced in the first two acts were neatly tied together in the final act. The complexity of the mystery itself did not soil the story; though I didn’t always understand the clues and laws, it was entertaining to read Pip discover secrets and watch the mystery unfold. And to think that this is Holly Jackson’s first novel. Are you kidding me? I wish authors could hold classes on character development. It was easy to give AGGM 5 stars, it felt almost mandatory after such an intense and incredible read. This book was a journey that I would gladly take again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Death, Car accident, and Death of parent