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chonkooch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
While this was very well written and thoroughly enjoyable I did have several issues with it. The descriptive writing is gorgeous and strangely homoerotic female friendships are very much my jam. I also was a big fan of the horror elements, delicious.
However at certain crucial points the writing style made it difficult to tell what was actually going on: for example, when the dean was dying i was exceedingly confused and also when robin died i had to flip back and forth a few times because i didn't understand. i'm not 100% that a boarding school was the right setting for this? the school element did feel a little underused and the segments with annabel giving speeches were definitely the weakest parts of the book. despite the heavy emphasis i can tell we're supposed to feel on female rage/revenge i actually feel the better parts of the book are the parts that center around the complex relationships between the girls. if it was more character study and a liiiittle bit less witchcraft i think it could've been great. i also think the ending is a little bit of a cop-out. i think the book Oligarchy by Scarlett Thomas does a pretty good job of what i wish this book had done- that is, expose how insular and ingrown and fake the obsessive cult-like world of the girls is, and how this religion of girlhood-as-pain is, while very real, ultimately something you have to grow out of.
However at certain crucial points the writing style made it difficult to tell what was actually going on: for example,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
lilacsophie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Grief