Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The List by Yomi Adegoke

24 reviews

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An interesting concept with 3d characters, i do think that the q+a section with the authors and one of the narrators was very good and added a lot of context to the writing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

mo_za11's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, Car accident, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Homophobia

magicinwords23's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Ola Olajide and Michel are the hot couple right now and they are all over social media. She is a journalist for Womxxxn magazine, he is about to start a new job at a production company called CuRated and they are about to be married. 

One morning they wake up to a list on the internet containing anonymous allegations towards several high profile men accusing them of a variety of abuse against women. Michael’s name is on The List. 

Ola’s world has been turned upside down. Did he do what they’re accusing him of? Can she trust him? Does she know him at all? So many questions but she is running out of time as the wedding draws near. 

This was a very thought-provoking story and I was persistently thinking“What would I do in this situation? My heart broke for Michael in one way as everything was falling around him but in another way, I thought he brought some of it on himself. I felt Ola was so quick to judge him and gave no consideration to what he was going through. 

This gave me Caroline Flack vibes with the hatred that was being shown and the intensely horrifying bullying on social media towards the men. Some very sad scenes where Michael felt so lost he just broke down and had no idea what to do or where to turn. 

There was another name on the list, a professional footballer, Lewis Hale. He was struggling with who he was and who the public wanted him to be. His story was a sad one and my heart broke for him and his family. 

A eye opener story and very apt for the world we are living in today where everything happens on social media.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

steppenfreak's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Stalking

Minor: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, and Classism

cecileyreads's review

slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

me_alley's review against another edition

funny reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

I understand why reviews are scattered of this book. On one hand, it centers the male experience in being accused of sexual assault, physical assault, etc. On the other hand, it also clearly has an open attitude towards feminism, inclusivity, and the black African-American experience.   

People (mostly men) are accused every single day of assault and impropriety, some of these accusations are valid, or not. There are examples in the story of both valid accusations and false accusations.  Some valid accusations that created accountability and some that didn’t.   The story has other examples of accusations that — while false — are rooted in another harm that has been done to a person. It examines how technology and the Internet have the power to create trauma and accountability. 

We kind of want it to be one of the other, don’t we? 

We either want to bemoan cancel culture and immediately assume the accusations are false… Or we want to “believe women” and immediately assume the accusations are true.  

This is why the reviews of this book are mixed.  It’s hard to come to terms with.   

Then again, that’s what makes a great story. That’s what makes us all more empathetic. To allow us to step into the shoes of someone with a different life experience than we have. That’s why readers of fiction become more empathetic people. Because they step into the shoes of someone with different life experiences. Allows us to examine the window through which we see the world, and consider that others are looking out of a different window.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Sexism, and Suicide

Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Outing, and Gaslighting

emilyandthewhippet's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

tragland24's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Homophobia

Great take on me too and the impact/consequences of internet/viral culture. If you listen to the audio book great interview of the author at the end.

janaaier's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

The List has a topical premise that could alienate readers during its process but holds complexity in its realism. It could be read as a capsule of different abuse apologist perspectives. The way the main characters' self-justifying script is portrayed through a critical lense but the journey is a bumpy ride. I think the majority of the book is directed towards those who entertain simplistic perspectives on interpersonal violence. It was a little exhausting to read about a build-a-boyfriend corporate feminist dithering ad nauseum about her hypocritical personal politics. It was also tiring to read the perspective of the aforementioned unbuilt boyfriend, the petty misogynist podcaster. 

The main characters are both deeply self-interested and morally grey from the beginning. The book is obsessed with what the List means for the main couple's material circumstances: reputation and money. The input they receive from side characters is also focused for the majority of the book on the social and professional consequences of the accusations. Many of the characters come across as unprincipled and disappointing. The brief guilty conscience scenes asides, the cast do not think of reaching out to potential victims, healing community harm, or ensuring the safety of friends and family - mostly distasteful masticating over damage control. That being said, the book is very aware of the characters' flaws and illuminates them.

It felt like reading a social horror.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Car accident, and Alcohol

eve81's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail