Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

That Weekend by Kara Thomas

20 reviews

amandawhyatt's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Child abuse, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Medical trauma

percyvale's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Incest, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

fictionaladventures's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No

2.0

I wanted a fun mystery/thriller, and that’s not at all what I got. If you read this, go in prepared for it to be way more serious than that. It’s way more of a heavy drama than anything fun like I wanted. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Death of parent

misasue03'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

themoodreader'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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

_chelseachelsea's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.0

Something I really like about Kara Thomas is her skill for pacing. Many thrillers unfold too slowly - dragging out the mystery until the last possible second, then rushing through the explanation like a Bond villain - or too quickly, in a way that feels unrealistic and overly convenient. This was my second Thomas novel (the first being The Cheerleaders) and I continue to be impressed by the way she manages to balance tension with realism. That Weekend feels like a play, with a first act that lays out just enough information to draw you in, a second act that unravels with impeccable timing, and a finale that delivers satisfying answers. While the mystery isn’t necessarily jaw-droppingly clever or unique, I don’t think that’s a weakness. In fact, I‘m finding more and more as I read thriller after thriller that a believable story is infinitely harder to pull off than a ridiculous one.

For most of the book, I had a 4.25-4.5 star rating in mind. I loved the narrator, Claire, who we follow as she struggles to recall the events that led her to be found bloody and concussed on a mountain she doesn’t remember stepping foot on. Claire is smart, but stubborn. She is petty, but she cares. She feels like a real teenager, on the cusp of adulthood and unsure of who she wants to be. When her life is toppled by trauma her response to it feels true, not contrived, and when she starts digging for answers it’s not because she’s a scrappy hometown hero with a sudden burst of detective skills - it’s because she cannot move forward from her own grief without the answers she thinks will resolve it. Again, Thomas demonstrates a real understanding of loss.

The one complaint I have, which ultimately caused me to drop my rating to a 4.0, is that while the finale does give a satisfying resolution to the story - without tying it up too neatly in a way that feels cheap - there are a few “bonus” twists that I felt warranted more attention. One of my biggest pet peeves in a thriller or mystery is when a plot point feels rushed or thrown in at the last minute. By the time these shockers are dropped on us, the pages are drawing to a close. There’s no time to explore the meaning or impact of them. I found it frustrating that by the time we were really getting to learn more about these other characters, our time with them was over.

Outside of that peeve, That Weekend is an excellent novel about guilt, grief, and the burden of secrets - even the ones we must keep to protect ourselves.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

_ladypearce_'s review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I love Kara Thomas’ books and this was no exception. It kept me engaged and interested till the very last pg.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol

Minor: Incest

bibliorama's review

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Enjoyment - 4.5
The audiobook narrator was quite good and brought a lot of emotion to the performance. I also liked the look at grief this book brings. Some of the tropes this book covers is memory loss, friends go missing in the woods during a camping trip, complicated friend dynamics.

Start - 5
We start out with our mc not remembering anything, and where she is initially found adds a lot of tension to the plot. There is a sense of threat to her, but based on her not being able to remember anything the feeling lingers.

Characters - 4
These were pretty rounded characters for ya mystery -- and I only say that not to rag on ya, but because right after this I read 5 Total Strangers. Now that was the opposite of well-rounded. Without giving away spoilers, I felt for the main character and by the end was like girl it's time for you to move on and find some new friends.

Atmosphere - 2.75
This was the lowest score simply because it felt like this plot could have happened anywhere, and there isn't anything super specific about the location or vibe that makes it stand out. Which is fine. The story was still enjoyable without that.

Plot - 4
There were some twists that I could see coming, but they were still executed well. And, there were some twists that I didn't guess entirely. How the main character found clues also felt natural and not out of thin air.

Ending - 3.75
I liked the final conflict between the mc and a few other characters. It didn't go down how I was expecting and yet it felt real to who the characters are. I think there was room for this story to push the thriller parts even further to make the stakes rise higher.

Style - 4
Easy and digestible without being too simple.

Overall - a solid 4
 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Car accident, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Incest, and Blood

Nothing really explicit or sensationally described. A teen reader most likely wouldn't have any issues.

pollyhall's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

nicoleherz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Family secrets, muddled memory mystery, how far would you go to escape?

Practically read it in one sitting, a really gripping story. I liked the writing and how the author gave the characters a lot of depth and unseen facets to their personalities and relationships.
Some twists were a little predictable but some of them were a total surprise!! Loved that

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Cancer, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, and Classism