Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill

13 reviews

daisytudball's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Abortion, and Pregnancy

taralawlor94's review

challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

sunshine_kait's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Medical trauma

Minor: Excrement and Vomit

sangsmiles's review

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Lesbophobia

jennsp's review

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

frogggirl2's review

dark fast-paced

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

2.5

Fat shaming and sexism vastly, dramatically understates the content of this book.  It's like a high school, mean girl "Handmaid's Tale" on steroids.  It's really, consistently unpleasant.  If you object to girl hate, this is not the book for you. The world is so over the top impossible that I didn't really feel anything; the book, world, characters and plot are entirely one dimensional so it felt redundant and the book could easily have lost a 100+ pages.  It's a fast read but there's nothing here, including the minimalist (and at times confusing) writing style, to like or enjoy.   

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Sexism, and Sexual assault

hetismarijkie's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Moderate: Drug abuse and Eating disorder

Minor: Confinement, Blood, and Vomit

elj_ne's review against another edition

4.0

2022 review:
Damn this book is dark. It’s a very very bleak dystopia, and I think part of what enthralled me in 2015 was the relentless lack of options and hope. It’s very good on internalised misogyny, toxic masculinity and as a portrayal of a protagonist gradually losing her mind, and I think the plot and pacing make it a quick read. Since 2015 I’ve read a lot of Louise O’Neills other novels and they’ve definitely matured in terms of character and world building, writing and themes, which is really great to see. This definitely has a lack of subtlety that can be easily forgiven as a debut novel. I agree with my 2015 self that I wish we’d seen more of isabel, and I don’t think I’ll read it a third time but I’m glad I reread it.

2015 review (5 stars):
Holy shit. This book destroyed me - don't read it if you want anything happy, because this is not it. The society is depressing and so wrong (seriously who even came up with it as an idea?? It's ridiculous and awful), but a lot of things are painfully familiar, including eating disorders, the cruel way teenage girls can treat each other, and even the way in which the hatred of "feminine traits" affects men who dare to exhibit them. There was also a scene that will feel very, very familiar to anyone who has ever had an anxiety attack. Triggers everywhere, be warned, and a dose of cruel homophobia as well. I wish we'd had more from isabel to get a better hold on her character, but great book that I will probably never read again unless I want to cry a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

mosimo2321's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death, Infidelity, and Sexual violence

readingroses's review

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This shiz cray.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment