autumnn_96's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
2.0
Read this book after watching the movie. Movie was 100xs better but of course fabricated. Book was eh. Just interesting to read about what happened first hand.
leslie_overbookedsocialworker's review against another edition
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement and Emotional abuse
sarahbberrigan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
sfletcher26's review against another edition
3.0
Having secured her incarceration in Blackwell Island Insane Asylum Bly spends 10 days chronicling the conditions there. Her investigation finally secures extra funding and improved conditions at the facility. An incredible piece of investigative journalism journalism in any era.
displacedcactus's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
fast-paced
This is a graphic novel adaptation of Bly's undercover reporting on conditions at the women's asylum on Blackwell Island. If you've ever watched a horror movie where inmates at an asylum were treated cruelly, it was probably inspired in part by what Bly witnessed during her ten-day stay. Thankfully, the graphic novel takes a tasteful approach -- when the women are stripped and bathed, we are shown only suggested nudity. Women describe being beaten, but we don't see it happen. As such, this book feels appropriate for teen readers with an interest in history or journalism. I probably wouldn't give it to readers younger than that.
This is a very quick read -- I read most of it just waiting for a slightly-late doctor's appointment. You could probably read it in an hour or less in a single sitting. The black and white artwork is just detailed enough to set the scene, without being so detailed that you get lost in it.
This is a very quick read -- I read most of it just waiting for a slightly-late doctor's appointment. You could probably read it in an hour or less in a single sitting. The black and white artwork is just detailed enough to set the scene, without being so detailed that you get lost in it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Violence, Sexism, and Xenophobia