Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

18 reviews

hjb_128's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

sweetbean's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit slow for me, but I was hooked. That is, until I realized the author simply took real life tragedy and repurposed it into a novel. It is one thing to take inspiration. It is another to use the exact stories of victims of unspeakable violence. I felt sick once I realized. Whatever message she wanted to share is ruined by the lack of respect for the real woman who were harmed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual violence, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol

uniquelymace's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

jessiejonesbentley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

betag1013's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

rebeccadiv's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Eating disorder and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Incest

misslav20's review against another edition

It didn't hold my attention well, the characters didn't feel quite real at times. The book felt very drawn out for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Rape

summerofsoaps's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Incest

henrybirdie's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

This is such a unique spin on—and commentary about—true crime and our collective obsession with serial killers. While the novel itself is fiction, it centers around the very real crimes of an infamous American murderer who is never named outright in the novel. I found this to be a completely brilliant decision by the author, and although I knew exactly who the killer was in real life, I literally could not recall his actual name for the duration of the book. I kept thinking it would pop into my brain but it didn’t, and I kinda love that. 

The novel is told from the POV of two women whose lives are tragically impacted by the now infamous serial killer. Jessica Knoll does something really interesting by not only leaving the killer unnamed, but totally eviscerating the longstanding narrative that the American media and public have crafted on his behalf. Not charming, brilliant, handsome, enigmatic….he was just a twisted, insecure psychopath whose disgusting crimes flew under the radar due to run of the mill white, male privilege and the insidious ineptitude of chauvinist law enforcement agencies. 

Knoll writes the female protagonists beautifully and weaves their interconnected storylines in such a way that the killer somehow only exists as a minor player. Though his actions drive the plot in a literal sense, she succeeds in transforming him into the small, embarrassing man that he really was. 

This novel is extremely triggering and dark but I absolutely loved it and found it to be a refreshingly subversive take on the genre. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Murder

basicallykaitie's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

This book will live in my mind for the rest of my existence. Make no mistake that this book is heavy, but it is necessary. This is the way I have been waiting to hear true crime discussed since I was a teenager and I think a part of me was healed to know that the victims were finally centers in someone’s narrative of any event. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Death of parent