Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Watching You by Lisa Jewell

32 reviews

waniojeniyi's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I don't know about this book and I wonder why it has such a good rep here. 

The story dragged for the most part, and when it supposedly picked up, I had lost interest. 
So, we are introduced very quickly to all the residents of Melville Heights. On paper, it is a cute neighbourhood but the book starts out with a murder; so apparently the neighbourhood is not that cute.  

The characters were unlikable and frankly, very weird, re: Joey, Tom, Nicola. I liked the representation of Asperger's in the story but surely, that could have been addressed without Freddie's weird hobby? 

There was a lot going on in this book so it was really hard to focus on the murder that was supposed to be the point of the story. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Pedophilia

natashaball's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide

Moderate: Bullying, Stalking, and Murder

ultravioletrose's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

nahni's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Mental illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Murder

Minor: Racism and Xenophobia

clarklyn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Don’t have any detailed thoughts about this one, I enjoyed reading it!  It kept me guessing which I was pleasantly surprised by!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

sarah_tani's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Stalking, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, and Death of parent

kshy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

brenxbee's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Child abuse

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

haleybre's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

annagerman's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

Mostly disappointed.
This wasn't bad per se. More like very average. The writing was OK, not cringey but also not particularly engaging. 
The teenaged characters were the most interesting and relatable. The grown-ups were either very dumb and annoying, or simply oblivious. 
The plot was very predictable, and I didn't like that most of the "twist" relyed on pure chance.
Also I didn't really appreciate how the themes of mental health, neurodivergence and domestic abuse/violence were handled.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pregnancy