Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

9 reviews

lostfoxtrail's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

1.5

Absolutely hated this book. The reason it got a rating this high was because I was hooked for the first 30 pages or so. Then it just becomes this long creepy story where really nothing happens for 100 pages. It made me question why this was a novel instead of a short story. The way the girls are described by the main character is actually pretty disturbing, which may be the point, but it seems pretty normalised in the narrative. It’s supposed to be the MC as an adult reflecting on his childhood, but he’s still describing these girls who aren’t much older than 14 in vivid, sexual detail. So, a grown man writing a grown man writing about a horny teenage boy. If the author was going for what I think he was, then it was extremely poorly executed. The book seems to have a nostalgic, vignette description of these events, even though it’s describing the life of five abused and disturbed young women taking their own lives. The hook of the book is only covered in the first 30 pages and then the last 30 pages. I genuinely feel that the pages in the middle did nothing to add to the narrative. Though it’s supposed to be all about these girls, they’re all cardboard cutouts. The same with the male characters. The book is far too long to feel like I didn’t know any of the characters by the end. The whole thing was just in poor taste and I was sick of it by the midway mark. Only reason I finished it was because it had been hyped up so much. Maybe in the future I’d be interested in trying Middlesex, as that’s also recommended even if you don’t like TVS. God this book sucked. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Suicide attempt

hanna_ix's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Alcohol

kirisuna's review against another edition

Te ingewikkeld, rauw en heftig 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Death of parent

beepbuggy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

it was disorienting,

having flashbacks to when the narrator(s?) were in school to then mentioning them when they are old and grown was out of the blue, and also the use of exhibit # and there not being anything to refer to felt like i was reading detective notes but not having all the pieces and we never really get told very clearly how the girls off themselves only the first one

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

kibiiiariii's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

lindasoderlundd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicide, Medical content, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Vomit, and Alcohol

honey_rain16's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual content

charlottesurrey's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

This book left me shocked, triggered and thoughtful all in the best way possible. I'm a very impatient reader and the chase of the book which tells you what happens on the first page was exactly what I wanted, although not the normal form of book I gravitate to. The book was also written in 1st person, but uses we not I - it's an intresting way to have the narrator in the situation reporting 1st hand but needing no focus on their character.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

taylorttea's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.0

men need to stop writing women in such a way that makes me want to gouge my eyes out. its worse when its not even a good story

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Pedophilia