Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

16 reviews

pollyhall's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

judyegallagher's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Classism

Minor: Cancer

rodent_scribbles's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Really interesting premise and writing style but the ending left me dissapointed and the reveal of the true killer didn't make much sense given the previously established MO. 

That and

the whole concept of an evil child commiting brutal murders bc something something evil seed, something something sins of the mother just felt flat and boring. It would have been far more interesting thematically for the 2 sisters to learn to overcome their trauma at the hands of an abusive and murderous mother, each coping in their own violent way. Instead we got a somewhat nonsensical last minute plot twist that flattened Amma from 3 dimensional character into a cliche archetype.

Otherwise an intense and interesting read, just skip the last chapter.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Chronic illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Vomit

Minor: Cancer and Suicidal thoughts

katmystery's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This is the most disturbing book I have ever read. Gillian Flynn is a genius with suspense; I couldn't put it down even though it made me feel sick, kinda like an addictive poison. Every trigger warning under the sun.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Drug use and Rape

Minor: Cancer and Eating disorder

celina246's review against another edition

dark 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

3.75

a tragic, dark read. reading it kind of left me wondering whether the point was a murder mystery, an insight into the psychology of childhood trauma or a mixture of both. eventually, i settled on both, especially given the ending. Gillian Flynn is a brilliant writer, but i don't know if I loved the book...i didn't really get as much satisfaction from it by the end as I hoped. maybe that was the point.

i just hate reading about rape, children being murdered in detail, adult/minor (even though technically he isn't) relationships etc., in books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, and Kidnapping

stilestastic's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Pregnancy, and Dysphoria

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Eating disorder, Torture, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

inneraman's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book is dark and mysterious. It will make you reflect on the actions of the characters, a lot. I found myself trying to find way to ‘root for’ the main character but through some of their actions, I couldn’t decide. The main character is broken, flawed and emotionally unstable because of her upbringing and her toxic mother/environment. I found the book engaging and well written. I will be reading other books by Gillian Flynn. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a mysterious and dark story with troublesome characters who are beyond help. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, and Pregnancy

tkatt20's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

3.5

This book contains very descriptive and serious topics and content, please proceed with caution and look up a full list of TWs for this book, I also have a list at the end of my reveiw of some I took note of.

This was a ride. The premise it's was good, it felt like reading a Criminal Minds episode for the first 100 or so pages, but then we entered into the second half where things dragged and got weirder and more off-putting, and not in a good way, more of a "why is this thirty+ year old taking drugs from a 13 year old" way. I did genuinely like the main plots of the book, but once the MC has a few vastly inappropriate interactions with underage characters I was a little checked out. 
I did keep reading for the mystery though. I was so certain I knew who the killer was but was quickly proven wrong at the end. I thought the characters were very interesting, mostly unlikable, but interesting nonetheless, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing how they all responded to the crimes going on in their little town. If you're looking for a multi-layered, macabre mystery, then this will be perfect for you, otherwise I would go looking for something a little lighter and to preserve a little bit of the innocence you may have left.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Mental illness, Self harm, Vomit, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Cancer, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Classism

hazel_medlock's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Eating disorder, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

izypup's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Physical abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail