Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Wych Elm by Tana French

21 reviews

thesaggingbookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

This was difficult for me to rate. The writing was great as usual and the characters were well developed but it dragged on and on for no real reason. Just because you’re a stellar writer doesn’t mean you need to use all the words!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Violence, Grief, and Medical trauma

Minor: Terminal illness, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

The book covered a lot of sensitive topics but i didn’t feel like it was gratuitous in explanations or details.

te_ss_i's review against another edition

mysterious 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? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

seadeepy's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual assault, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Self harm, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

corncake's review against another edition

mysterious tense 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

2.75

Excellent characterization, but the pacing of this book is painfully slow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Self harm, and Vomit

surefinewhatever_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

2.0

Thanks, I hated it.

Let me start with the one redeeming quality of this book, Tana French can write a damn house! Just like the home in The Likeness, I could picture the Ivy House perfectly! It was cozy (until it wasn’t) and atmospheric and just so vibrantly written. 

But that skill is not enough to save this book. Not only is every single character (except Hugo, whom I felt affection for and wanted to see more of) unlikeable, but our protagonist is the *most* unlikeable of the bunch. Seriously. Irredeemably so. I guessed the killer prior to the reveal, but that’s not saying a whole lot as this book is SLOW. And lastly, though frankly most importantly, this book is ableist and fatphobic as FUCK. Like, jarringly so. I felt like I was constantly being pulled out of the story because I was taken aback by the ableist comments. Bad bad bad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fatphobia

rileyreadsagain's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Dementia, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

maplegreen's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Drug use, Sexual violence, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder

rhiannonafternoon's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is a rough go, with twists and turns that made me feel terrible for the dominos falling one after the other for Toby, the main character. Unreal at points, and suspenseful down to the last 20 pages. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Drug use and Alcohol

madzsmiled's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Self harm and Pregnancy

arti_27209's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Drug use