Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

21 reviews

lindsayhotrod's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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? Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, and Stalking

Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Blood, and Dementia

taynicole2698's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This book is intense, but it’s real. It doesnt feel like fiction. I didn’t love the way she ended it, but I get it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Emotional abuse, and Miscarriage

dckathleen's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

This book was frustrating and should come with major content warnings. It's billed as the story of a hook up between old friends who are married to other people.

Although that does happen, the story also includes repeated and detailed descriptions of child abuse and rape. There's also a dead child. 

There's only one likable character, and honestly, he doesn't save it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body shaming

bouebooks's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Murder, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

emily_lloyd's review against another edition

emotional 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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming

bettysabetty's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

Minor: Child death

ciaracullen's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Antisemitism, and Alcohol

lyricallit's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad 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

(This may change after a book club discussion)

I struggle to know how to rate this. Initially, I did not think I'd enjoy it, but then found myself devouring a vast portion of the book. There were longish, overly detailed sections I could have done without but overall the pacing was very good. But damn the trauma in this woman's life, in her whole family... I think I heard it called "tragedy porn" and I m trying to decide if I agree with that assessment.

Ultimately I found the ending unsatisfying. I felt that the character development made a good case for the decision she had seemed to settle on... Only for her to reverse that decision in the last 2 paragraphs. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Body shaming and Incest

Minor: Cancer, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

beastmomma38's review against another edition

challenging 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book is not exactly as described. Yes, it's about a woman struggling with her past and what to do about her infidelity with her first love. What I wish I would have known ahead of time is that the first half of the book involves so much talk of past sexual abuse from family members to adults and children. The only thing that kept me going was the wonderful writing style and the hope the explicit sexual  abuse stops, which it does. 
I would have loved to give this book 5 stars but the first half of this book made me so uncomfortable, the best I can do is 3. So if you love family drama, back and forth in time stories, and are not triggered by sexual abuse, definitely give it a shot. But please be warned majority of sexual abuse happens to children of varying ages.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Stalking

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, and Misogyny

pollyflorence's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment