Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Penance by Eliza Clark

11 reviews

elizlizabeth's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

3.5

Audiobook version is so bad, which is sad because given the text format, it had so much potential. It’s only the main guy voice though, he reads everything in a deadpan way that quickly gets annoying (was this the point?). Footnotes are also read as part of the text, which overall lessened my immersion, as I’m hearing what “kin” means out of the voice of someone who reads LMAO as “le maw”.
That aside, the book is an interesting take on the true crime industry. It shows (exposes?) the many faced masks that “true crime content creators” adopt and is ruthless with every single one of them. The narrative forces you to reconsider as you read on the actual “true” crime so just when you think that you’ve found moral ground, it gets questioned again and again. Goes to show that there’s never a good ”moral” standing point in the matter or, in the words of fictional-disgraced-author Alec Carelli “the snake has eaten its own tail”.
Way to write a flop journalist btw, that guy sucks.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Mass/school shootings, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, and Police brutality

rayanaj's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.0

** spoiler alert ** this book was shaping up to be a five star until i got to the final act- girl c. i understand that the entire point of the book is for it to about how disgusting the true crime industry really is, but i am not a true crime girlie and just found girl c's story hard to read. it made me sick. ill sleep with the light on tonight because it was that unsettling.

the ending was phenomenal though. it wasnt a huge surprise as i had already suspected it as i had been alluded to what themes this novel was exploring, but still impeccably executed regardless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

ribbenkast's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Eliza Clark's writing is unlike anything other writing I've ever read. The way she got into a fictional sleezy crime writer's head and made this sensationalized "non fiction" book from his perspective.  It's a level of writing skill not many people posses.

Something that particularly stood out to me that deserves separate praise is just how well she captured 2014 tumblr culture around true crime. It was weird and you just had to be there to see it to believe it. 

I'm looking forward to Clark's next novel coming out this year! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Death of parent

cadence99's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.5

What a VISCERAL experience of a book as a woman who grew up online in the 2010’s- this has so many elements that made it a perfect read for me: the most unreliable narrator, niche tumblr cringe, and true crime community critique. This is definitely a unique experience of a book that I wouldn’t recommend to just anyone BUT it worked SO well for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Xenophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

tessa_specchio's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

woah 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Racism, Police brutality, and Kidnapping

charliedon's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

A mixed media book presented as a non-fiction publication by a disgraced journalist. Penance looks into the modern fascination with true crime and it’s affect on young impressionable people. The presentation of the book is very well done leading to a discussion as to the intentions of the ‘author’ which is then confirmed of by the end of the book. A good read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug use, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Police brutality, and Toxic friendship

nicole__reads's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

5.0

A gruesome, extraordinary novel that delivers a multifaceted critique of the pop culture true crime obsession, with a story that pulls you in and requires reflecting on your own engagement with it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

bethsreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Penance is a disturbing and macabre fictional true crime novel ‘written’ by a disgraced journalist about three girls murdering their schoolmate in a small seaside town. 

One of the novel’s focal points is exploring the ethics of the true crime genre, particularly the exploitative aspects. A true crime story is so easy to get pulled into, as it offers some of the most extreme and disturbing corners of humanity; but it is important to stop and think: how true is true? Having two writers of the book, Clark herself and the journalist in the story writing the book, adds an extra layer of authorial distortion, demanding you constantly question the legitimacy and trustworthiness of every word you consume.

I particularly love writing that refuses to sit idly within binaries and instead adventures around all the boundaries of a topic, and this book does that. From the subject matter, it seems like there would be an obvious right and wrong, and while there is in the grand scheme of things, the layers and nuances offer a much more complex story. Clark, in my opinion, is quite clear in her stances, but they are thoughtful, balanced opinions that filter in through the story while still leaving room for personal moral engagement as the reader. 

I think Clark also does a fantastic job of depicting teenage-hood, especially in the mid 2010s, and the involvement of the internet at the time. Tumblr basically being a main character really transported me back to what teenage life was like in 2015.  

I did feel like there was perhaps some unnecessary historical backstory to the town, which did enrich the story and make it feel like a real place, but felt somewhat too much at times and I think some parts could’ve been edited down to streamline things a little. 

Overall this was an incredible story and one I’ll be thinking about for a long time! As a warning though, please be sure to check the content warnings first as it covers some difficult topics (though I believe it handles them all well and with respect). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Eating disorder and Vomit

chronicacademia's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An incredible, uncomfortable, horrifying dissection of the true crime genre and its “fandoms.” A must read for anyone who consumes true crime. 

Adding a content warning for necrophilia as well as the content warnings listed below. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

noiraet's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Torture, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Self harm, and Suicide