Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor

18 reviews

megan_wy'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

There were a lot of plot twists in this book. I listened to it on audiobook, so it was a little confusing for me to visualize and follow all of the different characters in the town and many storylines. I enjoyed it, but the many plot lines and few plot holes threw me off at times. I wish they condensed it and chose one or two of the stories to follow as opposed to so many. Overall, it definitely was a dark thriller that I enjoyed. I just needed to take more mental notes to keep track of all the characters in the story and be less confused 🤣 I enjoyed Jack as a character, and learning about her truth at the end was a big shock! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia

ioana00's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Murder

clarkg's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

While the story itself is compelling and well-written, this book has some serious problems with regards to its representations of Black, disabled, and queer people. There is a particularly gruesome depiction of Black, queer, low-income women that leans heavily on violent "welfare queen" stereotypes, made worse by the fact that the book has no positive examples of people of color in its main cast of characters. Additionally, this book contains a disability trope/storyline that I found to be in extremely poor taste. I believe in giving people grace and room to grow, but at least within the confines of this story, I wish that the author had been more mindful of how her choices work to reinforce harmful societal narratives about marginalized communities. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Dementia

lindseylosers's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Outing

nialiversuch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, and Car accident

booksnbrooches's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

3.0

I greatly enjoyed the opening of this book. It had ghost girls, religious fervor, and a creepy setting, what more did I need? Unfortunately, I found the main story less than appealing. I was hoping for more of the supernatural side of things, and that isn’t what happened. Maybe my own expectations let me down. 

Still, it was a fast paced thriller. I loved the writing style and would be willing to read more of the author’s work in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, and Cursing

Minor: Pedophilia, Torture, Murder, and Pregnancy

jasminechocklettslee's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide

Moderate: Violence and Murder

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

singalana's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Sexual content, Excrement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

saraellenme's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

mysterymom40's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

graphic scenes, even with teen characters; lots of cursing and what could be read as blasphemy to some; biblical interpretation and views shared by religious persons; ghost-like appearances