Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Valley of the Dolls 50th Anniversary Edition by Jacqueline Susann

19 reviews

gabriella_'s review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense

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

4.5

this book is going to haunt me, i know it. parts of the book are tough to swallow (esp the fatphobia/body shaming, ableism, and homophobia) but if you can power through, it’s so worth it. idk if this is a hot take but i think it has a similar message to the barbie movie but it does it better

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

lbyars99's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

subtlymelancholy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

It's a slow start but if you really like Old Hollywood (before the collapse of the studio system, so like 1940s-60s) once you start it's REALLY difficult to put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

There are a lot of seriously triggering topics covered in this book and it's not really something that can easily be skipped over. It's also a combination of the characters' internalized feelings and the result of the time and place the book was written.

noshinbean's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

bxcvi's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Biphobia, Cancer, Fatphobia, Medical content, Abortion, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

morenowagain's review against another edition

dark emotional funny fast-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

This novel uses the word f*g/f*ggot over 25 times.

laurenw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Abortion, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Cancer

liviakad's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense 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

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Abortion, and Alcohol

mel_sh's review against another edition

4.75

 4.65*

“When you’re climbing Mount Everest, nothing is easy. You just take one step at a time, never look back and always keep your eyes glued to the top.”

WHAT A TRIP
as some of you may have noticed, i have been reading this book for a little over two months now. this was never because i wasn’t absolutely enamoured with the book. i don’t really know how to describe why this book is so good but it just isss
if you read books about characters you love and beautiful and lyrical writing then this just isn’t for you. the characters are enjoyable and you will love a good few of them and there are some lovely lines but its not what makes this book. what makes it is these absolutely psychotic characters that live these lives that you never will but whose problems feel somehow so real and close to your own. beneath it all, this is a story about women and everything that comes with being a woman in hollywood.
i think it’s incredibly important to mention that this book is clearly a sign of the times. the casual and blatant homophobia, fatphobia, and ableism is present all throughout the book and is quite hard to read at times 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Lesbophobia