Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

This Is Not a Dead Girl Story by Kate Sweeney

3 reviews

tyraarane's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad 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

4.0

This was a difficult book to read, and an even trickier one to review. As another reviewer noted, it's less of a mystery story and more an exploration of grief, young love (both requited and not), and the violence done to women and girls. Because of its subject matter it won't be for everyone, for certain, but I think this is one of the best handlings of those subjects I've read in a very long time. The last 50-75 pages in particular were un-put-down-able. 

Read the content warnings before you pick this one up and make sure you're in the right head space for it--but if you are, I think you'll find a well-realized, sympathetic cast of characters whose problems and experiences feel heartbreakingly real.
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avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

3.5

    Part of the reason I didn't enjoy this book as much as I might have, is that it was so dark, and I wasn't in the right headspace. The part of the mystery was obvious, to me, based on the content warnings at the start of the book. However, the ending was not what I expected at all.
   This book handled quite a few very heavy topics which I appreciated, but I felt like the
grooming portion was underdeveloped.

   Overall, it was a well-done book, just very dark, and with characters that were a bit unlikable. I assume the MC was supposed to be neurodivergent, but she was a sort of unclear type that might be a mishmash of neurodivergent mixed with a personality disorder or a mental illness. It was very strange. 


Narrator Rating: 3.75 stars
   The narrator did a fairly decent job narrating, but something about some of the voices she did just grated on me, the MC seemed annoying. 
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darquedreamer's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-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? Yes

2.0

I really had high hopes for this one. The synopsis sounded like it was right up my alley in terms of YA thrillers. What I got ended up feeling like a watered down, cliche, Lifetime movie about teenagers, but meant for adult audiences. I would not recommend this to teenage girls AT ALL! There were so many things going on in this one that just aren't appropriate for a young audience. Without giving spoilers, the plot twists were more like warnings, and things that need to be looked out for on the side of parents. Things that should be discussed with teenagers as life lessons for body positivity and safety purposes. But the lessons that were meant to be taught in the story never quite felt learned by the characters. The story had potential to be both entertaining and useful as a way to show teenage girls that they need to protect their bodies and theirselves while also realizing that they have power and that they are all beautiful no matter what, but it most definitely fell short and seemed to be teaching the wrong things. 😩

Thanks for the e-arc penguin teen. 
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