Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Dark and Shallow Lies: Von seichten Lügen und dunklen Geheimnissen by Ginny Myers Sain

33 reviews

creolelitbelle's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

I reread this as an audiobook, and the production is on POINTE. Sound effects match the flash scenes perfectly, and the emotion from the narrator hits as it should. I love the mysteries within the story and the complexity of the characters. Elora feels as much a part of the story as Gray, Hart, and everyone else we meet, because her presence is felt so strongly from nearly page one. My strong hope is that this will become a movie or mini-series one day, because the writing is amazing. Recently, I learned from the author that an expert on Louisiana read the book before publication, which explains its authenticity. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicide

bittie_bee's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent

Minor: Self harm

forgedopulence's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

La Cachette is for the ghosts.

This book is very much Young Adult, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Overall, it was a great story and held my interest, but I really wanted more depth from basically everything - the magic, lore, relationships, and the final resolution. The sub-plot was very well done, however. I also enjoyed the "full circle" feeling of all lose ends being tied up with such finality. 

Unfortunately, we never got to know most of the supporting characters enough for the main twist to be as impactful as it should have been. I'm glad those two died, and I don't think that was the intention. 

Incest being used as a plot device is also weird for a YA book and everything in me wishes the author had picked a different reason.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Suicide and Death of parent

Minor: Incest

brjohnson's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death and Suicide

bookboxbabe's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

no one speak to me for a bit, i’m not well

this book is beautiful and gut wrenching at the same time. it’s raw and feels like you’re being ripped open and spilt onto the pages. 

i loved the small town dynamics, the mystery that kept me guessing till the very end, and the whiplash of reveals felt like i myself was in the middle of the hurricane 

the summer children will forever be in my heart

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

mkesler14's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Toxic friendship

Minor: Vomit

hollyheartless's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I have very mixed feelings about this book. This is quite fast paced and I was very hooked on finding out what happened. Part of me loves the dark atmosphere and the absolute rollercoaster I was on in trying to solve the mystery I did not trust any of these characters apart from MC Grey. The history of the characters and world building was clearly really thought out and clear while reading. There are some very clever snippets of writing using small visions of text to build a whole scene which I thought was brilliant!! However, I will say I didn’t feel fully satisfied with the ending of the book as a whole in the epilogue, I feel like I have a lot of questions still unanswered. Also there are a lot of triggers with this book, including child death, abuse, alcoholism and brief mentions of self harm. It is a dark and more mature book, one that I would read again but I wouldn’t be in any rush to 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

micaelamariem's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I’m not much of a thriller reader but this YA thriller with magical elements kept me on my toes. In it, Grey returns to a small Louisiana town known for its psychic powers. But this is the first summer since her best friend’s disappearance and she’s determined to know what happened. I loved the beautiful descriptions in this book. If you ever wanted Southern Gothic with a touch of magical realism, this is it. I especially loved how the place of this town was a character in itself, showing how there was rot under even what was pretty, just like the festering secrets people kept. The twists were also satisfying. I was only partially correct in my original guess of who the killer was. I also liked the portrayal of grief and how trauma can affect mental health and the way a character interacts with others. I do agree that the characters acted stupid and selfish often—though they are teenagers so that could be realistic. I also agree that the pace was a bit slower than it needed to be. Still, I really enjoyed this book and if you like gothic fiction and thrillers, this is the perfect mix. But beware of trigger warnings: murder, domestic violence, death of children, alcohol. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

kitfkat's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

laneysix's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Alcohol