Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Girls by Emma Cline

19 reviews

issyd23's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Like a more interesting version of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood 4⭐️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Rape, Addiction, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Gore, Sexual violence, Violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Self harm, and Sexual harassment

geesammy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

2.75

 why was this 14yr old girl so lost and making such morally ambiguous choices?  Just to belong and be seen?  She never developed her own sense of self, dignity, decency or even hygiene….the idea that she questioned whether she would have stopped them is laughable …she clearly would not have.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, and Murder

plumdustsuns's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

1.0

I think Cline is a really talented writer and has a way with words that you come across only once in a while within books. I had picked up this book going off of some prompt/review saying it was about a lesbian and a cult. While that isn’t wrong, it didn’t quite encapsulate the entirety of the situation either. 
I think personally the book would have profited a lot from Evie being upwards of 17. While it would have taken away a bit of the hopeless lamb, but it wouldn’t have been that much. I think it would have lent to Evie and Suzanne’s relationship and Evie’s character in general.

Spoiler

There wasn’t much going on in their relationship besides Evie pining, not until Suzanne let Evie out of the car and visited her at boarding school, was some texture added. It would have made a more engaging story to have Suzanne a bit more fleshed out and receptive rather than this idealized character Evie was projecting everything onto. And the ‘connection’ she kept talking about in terms of her and Suzanne would have been justified and engaging. 
  Aside from that, all the SA on a 14 year old and this  promiscuity put upon them in literature makes me really uneasy and angry, honestly. I don’t think teenagers are ever that deliberate of sex in the way it’s presented in books like this. While it is shown that Evie is forced into it, it’s played off for the most part by her being like “oh well,” until the Mitch situation. Even that didn’t have enough anger or was presented in a bad light. I’m always aware in books of what writers project onto their characters and of what age because it is a choice, and not inspired off of true events ( entirely here anyway). 
I also found it really redundant that all of this happened over a fucking record deal. I wish it was something else and the bad blood between Russel and Mitch had more weight and tension, especially for the girls. (I read up and see  this is what happened in real life but just copy pasting these events without much of a weight or exploration just feels like a waste and triggering for no reason.) I wish it would have subverted the tale by instead having the girls turn on Russel somehow and kill him instead. That would have made a better story line.

 
I kept reading this book as it had a premise for having the opportunity to explore queerness, girlhood and the patriarchy in depth. However, besides from some insightfully written paragraphs on what it is like to be a girl, it feels rather flat in all the other departments. And it felt rather disappointing to finish this triggering book to get through with all the events just falling flat onto nothing overall and by the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Death, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Drug use, Rape, Blood, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

_eleanorgreen8_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.25

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - i read it in 3 days and it had me gripped from the start. Cline's writing is so poetic, beautifully capturing feelings and setting, and always delving deep into every character. i felt it was the perfect mix of concise and intricate. i also found the main character relatable in lots of ways, and felt i could understand all her thoughts and emotions. perhaps i was hoping for more plot twists, as you could see almost everything coming, but maybe that was intentional. overall a really dark but stunning read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Drug use

Moderate: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Child death, Misogyny, Body horror, Gaslighting, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcohol

helenamichelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Addiction, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Classism, and Drug use

thesecretsapphic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, and Sexism

itsheyfay's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Evie, please go see a therapist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Blood, Infidelity, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Cursing

hannahlouise_'s review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

3.25

i for the most part enjoyed this book and read it quickly but it was lacking in parts and i didn’t hugely connect? well written and a really interesting concept, the iconic California 1969 based on Manson murders etc, but i did feel it could have been executed better.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Gore, Death, Drug use, Murder, and Sexual assault

elizlizabeth's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

The first two parts are a bit slower, more of an internal monologue and a couple reflections to frame Evie as a character, but the actual plot picks up from chapter 5-6 onwards and while I knew what was going to happen I was flying through it to find out when and how it would unfold. The narrator's voice was gritty and cynical which helps make the story feel a lot more immediate and makes it more obvious that Evie is still reeling with PTSD over the event.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Drug use, and Sexual content

Moderate: Gaslighting and Fatphobia

Minor: Child abuse and Animal cruelty

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

The first couples pages of the book were over-the-top flowery language, and I wasn't sure if I was going to stick around, but it calmed down a little bit. I think the strongest parts were the descriptions of the very challenging time of pre-teen/early teenager-dom, when girls are really trying to just figure out how they fit into the world. I did not like the use of "Asiatic" to describe childlike banter - that feels.... not right and insulting to Asian languages. Just really unnecessary. I'm not sure if I'd read this author again because I might just not be able to get on her level of stuffed sentences. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Drug use, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Gore, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, and Excrement

Minor: Gaslighting, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Animal cruelty, and Animal death