Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Groupies: A Novel by Sarah Priscus

3 reviews

pthornbury05's review

adventurous challenging dark 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

1.0

Dry. Boring. Bland. Each scene after Faun's arrival in LA was ANOTHER party full of the same choices by all characters. The plot took WAY too long to develop for the length of this book and was wrapped up so quickly it didn't make reading it worth it. It took 2/3 of the book to drop a semblance of plot to enjoy and it was wrapped up with a result with 30 pages left. 

I had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately, I was let down by the repetitive nature of the plot. The characters were not enjoyable to read most of the time and I felt I barely knew any of them. It read more like a weird obsessed love story from Faun to Josie rather than about Faun's experience with the 1970s rock and roll lifestyle. Essentially, this book felt like a dramatic retelling of The Great Gatsby with some characters and plot points adjusted to fit a new story.

This book and its characters could not decide what it wanted to be. There were many instances of character and plot decisions that did not make sense to me. While I understand others may enjoy this book, it did not have the drama and allure that I expected to see in a book stating it's a "novel that will have you turning the pages until the music- and drug-filled end".

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Minor: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

jackieyvette's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This was great! I love a dive into 70s rock and roll just as much as the next person, and this is one of those stories. Faun and Josie are the perfect duo to live through in this real fictional novel. The plus is we get to hear it all from Faun and her polaroid camera. 
This has the perfect mix of fact and fiction and tells you everything you do and don't want to hear about LA in the 70s. It was glamorous and escapist, but also raw and reeling. It's a time period I love to live vicariously through, and Groupies is a great setting to lose yourself in. 


Crying score: absolutely 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Racism and Death of parent

georgiacreads's review

dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol

Minor: Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail