Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey

12 reviews

beate251's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

4.75

Wow, that's one hell of a book. It takes place between 1979 and 1981, when all of Yorkshire was afraid of the Yorkshire Ripper. 12 year old Miv and her best friend Sharon try to find him by starting with their neighbours and writing down everything that is suspicious about them. Turns out it's a lot. 

I thought this might be a nice coming-of-age story but it is only partly that. This is a multi POV story about friendship, first love and heartbreak against the backdrop of the Ripper years.

But this is also a story full of misogyny and racism - people being accused of things simply because they have the wrong skin colour or accent or are in any other way different. Kind of ironic if you know that Peter Sutcliffe was a pure Yorkshire man! 

It's hard to read about some of the victims being described as "just prostitutes" and the public only getting interested when "respectable" women get attacked.

There are an incredible number of terrible men in this book, terrible for a multitude of reasons. Men with two faces or just one horrible one. You think the Yorkshire Ripper needs to be caught but you find the horrors in your neighbourhood instead, the wife beaters, racists, pedophiles, drunkards, liers and cheats. That will make you grow up fast - if you make it that far that is.

But there were also wonderful characters - Miv, Sharon, Ishtiaq and his Dad Omar, Paul, Helen and Dad Arthur, Jim...
I loved reading about them all.

A few niggles: 
It felt strange that after children who were raising concerns about the "tickling uncle" were just being dismissed, there was nevertheless such a speedy conclusion to it.

Also, the book has 450 pages, and the last 50 are almost unbearable. Everything happens at once, tragedy ensues and things are suddenly dealt with within a few pages - I almost got whiplash.

For a debut novel this is astoundingly assured writing. It's absolutely unputdownable - I read this in one Saturday.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Mental illness, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Sexism, Vomit, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Violence, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

emilyandthewhippet's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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

I rarely cry when reading but I sobbed at the ending.

Throughout the story I just wanted to hold Miv and tell her that everything would be okay. It was mysterious and even knowing of the Yorkshire ripper, I was still left wondering what would happen next throughout the story. The ending was somewhat predictable but I'm always able to work out where books are going so maybe it wouldn't be for others. Even with this in mind though, the twist was still very hard hitting.
Definitely one of the best books I've read this year, out of almost 60 books so far.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Infidelity, Grief, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Classism, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexism, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Rape, Racism, Pedophilia, Mental illness, and Hate crime

Minor: Gaslighting

rachel101's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Death, and Infidelity

gabbyj's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Infidelity, Child death, and Murder

rosecott's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.5

Such a clever story. I loved the characters, they all felt completely believable and real to me. Miv was so relatable, throwing me way back to what it was like to be 12 albeit in a much earlier decade! I also utterly adored Sharon and her beliefs in what was right. 
This book made me laugh, and also broke my heart. 
If you’re into true crime, then this was a fascinating look at the Yorkshire Ripper case from a completely different angle but also done in a sensitive way I feel. 
Lots of dark themes explored but also somehow lighthearted and through the innocent lens of a child’s eyes. 
Absolutely sobbing as I got to towards the end though. 
I didn’t expect the turn of events at all.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Racism, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death, Pedophilia, Islamophobia, Bullying, and Child death

aileensbookshelf's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Murder, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Racism, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, and Death

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcoholism

kirstym25's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Child death, Racism, Domestic abuse, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Hate crime

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

line_magnus's review

dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Pedophilia, Murder, and Sexual assault

Minor: Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide

rosecahill's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Islamophobia, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Racism, Mental illness, Xenophobia, and Death

Moderate: Murder, Suicide, Rape, and Suicide attempt

gemloukay's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Having grown up in Yorkshire in the early 1980s, this book encapsulates the era and the area perfectly. I particularly enjoyed the “Thatcher milk snatcher” comments that still get bandied about today, and the references to a couple of real landmarks in Dewsbury. 

The story mainly follows Miv, a 11 year old girl (at the start) who decides that she’s going to note down anyone that she thinks is suspicious and therefore could be the Yorkshire Ripper who is in the loose and she believes might lead to her family moving away to escape the danger. What Miv actually achieves is to give us a naive insight into the lives of everyone around her and their everyday struggles. Because we can understand what she does not, it softens the blow of all the tragedy and pain that everyone is going through. 

The way that school is for Miv and how the teachers talk to her and her friends, the casual (at best) racism that is everywhere and the attitude of looking the other way when people are struggling that are still apparent in some ways even today. But also the strong sense of community and how they all pull together when someone is actually asking for help. It really does showcase the worst and best aspects perfectly. 

It’s a cleverly written coming of age story told mainly from Miv’s POV but occasionally interspersed by a chapter from Mr Bashir the shopkeeper, Helen the Librarian, Arthur the rag and bone man and Miv’s dad Austin. Everyone feels well fleshed out and with their own personality and take on things. And unlike the book that Miv’s friend, Paul, is reading part way through (a Kestrel for A Knave), it has an enduring feeling of hope against all odds.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Racism, Bullying, and Suicide

Minor: Hate crime, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny