Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

53 reviews

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

katndrsn's review

challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Dementia, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Vomit and Outing

vicious's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

4.75

I can't stop thinking about this book. It has left an indelible impression on me.

I listened to it via audiobook which may have been to my advantage as I never felt bogged down by the writing style (it's also very much my style anyway, so it's plausible reading it physically would have been fine). The narrators were incredible.

It's true that Pamela is a bit insufferable in the beginning; there were times where she could be grating, but I think that's the mark of a dynamic character. Over time, she really grew on me, and I think that's partly because she herself went through significant growth. I eventually began eagerly looking forward to her chapters.

Ruth could also be equally as insufferable; again, this isn't a flaw of the book. Quite the opposite. Characters with distinct flaws are, in my opinion, easier to adore. 

I love that the book never called the killer anything but "the defendant," robbing him of a name and the fictional fame tied to him. Yes, he is reminiscent of Bundy, but that's not what matters. The book is about the victims, both those who died and those who survived. And it's about the mark left on the survivors for the remainder of their lives. It's a bittersweet tale. Not happy, certainly sad, but definitive and concise. It's not supposed to be a happy tale, but neither does it need to be a tragedy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Eating disorder and Sexism

spicycronereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Ack! Audiobook loan expired before I finished! So I ended up listening to most of this book and then having a pretty long gap between when I heard the last two hours or so. Thinking back to my initial listen and thoughts, I didn’t really find the characters likable. There was enough of a mystery to keep me engaged though.

It’s a thriller with no romance elements. The story is narrated from two points of view over multiple time periods. So that gets a little confusing. And then at the end suddenly there’s a male narrator which really felt like it came out of left field. A lot of the narrative hinges on women bonding together over the violence done by men and forming support networks among systems that failed them.

In terms of diversity there are a few lesbian characters. No racial diversity that I can tell. And obviously no spice or swooniness. 

Overall, it was an entertaining listen. The mystery of how everything fit together and the larger themes of society failing women were pretty engaging. Don’t know that I’ll ever need to listen to it or read it again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Stalking

Minor: Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, and Injury/Injury detail

Police incompetence; police gaslighting

abbyrose333's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This is either a 4.5 or a 5 star book. The writing is impeccable, the story is flawless.
I listened to this book on audio and I found myself zoning out and missing parts but that is not a flaw of the book or audio. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Pedophilia

oz2021's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting

hannahduda's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

sdcalgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

Beautiful story speaking against sensationalizing serial killers and revealing the truth of how they are true, despicable garbage. The women and survivors who continue to fight are the real heroes 🫶🏼

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, and Sexual harassment

fancyjess_party's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment

jess_d84's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Torture, Blood, Dementia, and Kidnapping