Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - The Turnout

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

sarahsss's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

A nasty piece of work. In the most delightful sense possible.

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greatexpectations77's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.75

Duuuuude this was intense. I am SO glad that I gave another Abbott book a try because I just really felt like the other one I read by her was like meeting someone on an off-day. This was so incredibly stressful, and Derek was gross as HELL and I was so torn between putting the book down to get away from him and desperately hoping that he would STOP TALKING. I think the claustrophia of the house and the weird relationship between the 3 MCs was so well-crafted. It maybe slowed a tiny bit after the climax (if that is

Derek's death

). Also - did anyone else wonder if when Marie was making comments that she

had something in her bits that no one else had, was she suggesting that she was perhaps intersex?

Anyhoodles, great tension. Very into reading more from Ms. Abbott.

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katieg4's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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katieg4's review

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I just could not get into this story and had no interest in finding out what ends up happening. I have no sympathy whatsoever for any of the characters or events.

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sstewart89's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

5.0

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valentinaburbank's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This book is beautifully written. I loved the prose and the descriptions of the world of ballet. Megan Abbott is a meticulous writer. She captures that feeling of sitting in a dark theater and watching the dance of the sugarplum fairy so perfectly, it made me ache to read it. Her balance of beauty and darkness when it comes to ballet is masterful.
However, I wish that lovely balance had been more evident within the lives of the characters. It was so incredibly bleak. It was hard to take. And although most of the characters feel real, one of them (Derick) is just too overtly bad to seem three dimensional . He has no redeeming or even neutral qualities. The other characters needed something - anything - less bleak to balance out the rest of their stories. Even just something fleeting that would throw the bleakness i to a stark and sharper perspective, the way she handled the details about the ballet.
Her insights into to story of the Nutcracker were deep and dark as well. They made me think more about this ballet I have blissfully watched every year during the holidays. It made me want her to write a non-fiction book of essays on ballet stories and fairy tales.
This book taps into lots of common fears and a feeling of dread settles over you as you read it - you just know nothing good is going to happen. There are threads of multiple possible disasters sewn into this narrative right from the beginning.
The big twisty reveal was set up well and explained much of what was happening with the characters. It was sad and horrific (in the full meaning of the word) and worse than you thought it would be. But also because it is an overused trope in horror and thrillers, it did not land the way it would have if we hadn’t read it too many times before in the hands of lesser writers.

Honestly I am more or less sick of incest as a big reveal or as the “horrible” element of a book. Like having a dead mom, this one is overused and has lost all of its impact . In this particular book, however, it is the rotten core of the story and it does serve a significant plot purpose. It makes me wish I hadn’t read so many other books which used it as a shocking ending for much less purpose.

I know when I pick up a Megan Abbott book I will be captivated by the writing and disturbed by the story. I know I probably will not warm up to the characters, or at least not to most of them. And I know I will always finish the book slightly sad, a little disoriented , and unsettled. This book did not disappoint

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callistabanks's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

3.0

This was a super weird read. The way it was written was sort of weird and a little chaotic, which I didn't really like, it made it a bit more difficult to read. The writing of the book, while sort of jumpy and a bit incoherent, was well detailed almost more than it needed to be in some places.
The storyline was also sort of odd, the second half of the book was much better than the first, I really enjoyed when it got into the thrill of it all with the deaths. The ending definitely took me by surprise, which I liked, it was unexpected but it sort of worked. I really liked how this book showed the realities of a dancer/ballerina, from the hard truth of what they go through as children, toughening their feet and also the jealousy and bullying that can happen (for poor Bailey who was chosen for Clara), but also how injuries can ruin it all, as seen in Charlie, who barely even taught after his injuries. I also loved how it spoke of pain being their friend and that's what they were taught by their mother, which is very much a dancer's view and a harsh reality of being one.

*** Spoilers beyond this point ***

I thought their family dynamic was super freaking weird, from Dara and Marie's discussions as children about their bodies, to their mother and father's constant fighting, to their mother taking in Charlie as a "son" but also getting with him and then Dara marrying him after the fact. Not to mention the constant implying of there being some sort of incest between Dara and Marie, or some sort of weird dynamic in which they both shared Charlie, or they were some weirdly incestuous throuple. I also thought that Marie and Dara had a weird relationship with each other, although I liked at the end when they sorta realised how f*cked up their dynamic and how they grew up was, which in turn made them realise they needed to separate. It was nice seeing Marie, away from the dance school and on her own travelling, while Dara went on a different path, and stayed teaching at the school.
The characters were very much unlikeable, and I didn't feel too attached when either Derek or Charlie died, they were a shock and unexpected but I didn't feel I cared for either of them. Especially considering both of them were cheating on their respective partners, and made questionable decisions throughout the book.
I really liked the surprise of Charlie killing himself, it was somewhat unexpected, as you didn't really get any insight of his thought process. Additionally, I also really liked when Derek died, I disliked his character since his entrance, and it only grew as you saw how he treated Marie and his wife.
I also found it hard to tell if any of these "accidents" were actually accidents, the fire and then flood in the studio, or the fire in their house, all incidents felt like they were planned by someone.

All in all, the story was an interesting one, between the writing style, the story and the unlikeable characters, I couldn't give it more than 3 stars. There were bits I liked and obviously, bits I didn't like, but I think it is a very interesting read.

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