Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey

3 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

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