Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey, Jennie Godfrey

6 reviews

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

rokojo's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious

4.5

Wow so this book really blew me away. It's written from the perspective of Miv, an 11 year old girl who decides to solve the mystery of the yorkshire ripper as a distraction from her troubled home life.  

This is a brilliant coming of age story, which uses Miv's hunt for the ripper as a lens to explore the time and place she's growing up in. Through her eyes we see who is protected in this community and who experiences neglect and violence. It looks clearly at the different experiences of race, gender, class, and disability without feeling forced or overly exploitative.

Throughout there is also a really interesting exploration of the double edged sword that is a close-knit community where everyone knows each other's business.

The book occasionally took turns with different narrators to show perspectives outside of Miv's which I think accomplished sharing a more adult perspective on the situation, although I will say I enjoyed some more than others, especially Helen and Omar's.

I also think it could have been a bit more restrained as Miv uncovers a darker side of her community through her investigations, there were some bits in the middle with members of the church community that didn't feel like they added much beyond just piling on to the hidden dark side to the community.

Overall though I think it worked really well and I enjoyed it a lot. Would definetly recommend picking this one up. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Violence

Minor: Child death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Islamophobia, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Sexism, and Alcoholism

mausi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad fast-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

4.25

This book made me realise how rare it is to encounter stories of working class people, which is why this story was extremely educational for me from a cultural and historical perspective (as someone who did not grow up in the UK). What is a coming of age story on the surface, the book intertwines informative moments exploring topics like social class, racism, sexism, abuse and grief, making it notably original.  The story felt so simple and real in the way it explores raw emotions and relationships within this small community in Yorkshire. It broke my heart but it also healed it in its special way. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Child abuse, Suicide, Physical abuse, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Mental illness, Abandonment, Violence, Domestic abuse, Racism, Hate crime, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury