Reviews with content warning for Violence - Bright Young Women

A unique and empathetical way of retelling true crime events with focus on the victims, survivors, and the lives impacted.

I could only read a few chapters at a time because it'd get too intense for me. The intensity came from knowing these horrific events happened in real life. I also struggled getting into a rhythm with all the different characters and timelines, and the writing style had my head spinning at times. I kept wondering if my eyes had skipped a word or if the sentence construction was just too complicated for my understanding! Not the whole book was like this, but enough to make me work for it.

Content Warnings

jamiemamie's review against another edition

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4.0

Bright Young Women follows two characters in different timelines: Pamela, a sorority house manager who wakes up to find that an intruder has brutalized her sisters, and Ruth, a woman who goes missing without a trace. This book makes a point of not naming the man who committed the murders, but it’s a historical fiction about a very well-known serial killer.

Overall, I enjoyed this book (as much as one can enjoy a book about women being victimized) and found it simultaneously empowering and unsettling. Please be aware of the content warnings before going into this book. It’s definitely not a light read!

Content Warnings

mmccue1997's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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martinjen98's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative inspiring

5.0

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dishajetly_123's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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claudiafareme's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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shelbtastic96's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? N/A

4.75

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iamsuchawitch's review against another edition

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book reframes Ted Bundy's crimes and places the victims and their loved ones at the forefront of the narrative. It's what true crime should look like. Focusing on the victims and the effects rather than questioning if the killer's mommy didn't hold them enough (some how the woman is always to blame) or if their father beat on them. This rights all the wrongs of how true crime glorifies killers. I do not think i could give this book high enough praise for its approach. If you aren't going through a rollercoaster of emotions reading this, then you aren't reading between the lines. Though if you are a woman or have an understanding of what is to be a girl and a woman in society you may find this book boils your blood and triggers you. That burn of passion you feel about injustices.

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