Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

41 reviews

snoopyfanclub's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

ejsimpson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting myself into when I plucked this title from a tall pile of other mysterious thrillers and dramas. There are multiple stories in this book, yet there’s a thread to tie them together… in more ways than one. I was under the impression this had to be inspired by the case of the student swimmer accused of raping a classmate on campus, but didn’t look up any info as to whether that’s true or not. With that in mind, I think it makes the conversations this book could spark even more important. 
The chapters are short but poignant, though I wonder how could Rachel’s podcast truly be topping the charts with such short entries (then again, I’m largely unfamiliar with podcasts). Such short chapters make the story feel like it’s progressing more quickly, or maybe that’s this bookworm’s “oh, just one more chapter” excuse for staying up late. A quick and easy read but one centered on an important yet controversial topic. 
At one point Rachel tells her listeners that as a woman she is expected to merely ignore and accept small acts of sexual assault. Inconspicuous things, seemingly accidental things. This I think all women can relate to, some more than others. Why can we agree that murder is bad yet be so divided on rape and sexual assault? There was a chapter where K takes the stand and her testimony could be difficult for some readers as it discusses the events of the fateful night on the beach. The screaming and pleading, the bruises and descriptions of photos, the intentionally cruel attitude of Scott. 
The back and forth of K v Scott unfolding “in real time” while the hazy truth of Jenny’s torturous final weeks come to light was done methodically and done well. Neither giving too much away at a time or being so dreary as to drag on. The conclusion was one I didn’t wholly see coming, and it was nice to be a bit surprised. Overall, I enjoyed this book, the fleshed out characters, and felt it didn’t leave me wanting, didn’t leave me with any questions about the characters or plot (central to the story, anyway), so I would recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Blood and Alcohol

bibliophilola97's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Blood

klandry98's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Grief, Stalking, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, and Suicide attempt

___'s review against another edition

challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.0

Meh, predictable. There's a multitude of very cliche elements here - a small town where everyone knows everyone, the scary homeless man covered in scars, the son of a prestigious man, parallel and seemingly unrelated stories/events that can't possibly be connected, et cetera. Also, this is not a thriller. It's just a mystery. 

There's nothing really wrong with the book (though, poor editing got quite distracting at one point). There just wasn't anything new, thrilling, or exciting being offered.

(...Is the protagonist being a true crime podcaster a trigger warning yet?)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

lost_poetx's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Obviously this book has TW for SA, that isn’t a spoiler. I think that Megan Goldin handled the cases of two women that were violently assaulted and forever changed with a candid honesty that didn’t require overtly graphic descriptions—and that takes real talent. As a reader, I felt every emotion through this whole book that I expected to feel but I didn’t have to put it down and cope with unnecessary physical descriptions or accounts. I understand the privilege it is to read about this with a level of detachment when some people have this as their reality. If you can read about this without damaging your mental health, I would absolutely recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse

vj_thompson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

A thought provoking story that depicts why sexual assault cases next see the light of a court room. The process is time consuming, lawyers can brutal, and it may do more harm than good. 

Megan Goldin is an auto-buy author. The first book I read by her was Stay Awake. She does an amazing job at character building and touching on subjects matters like sexual assaults or mental health conditions. These topics are normalized in Megan’s stories. I found myself both times rooting for the main characters, and the side characters, wishing them all a happy and successful outcome.

I am looking forward to reading the sequel, and I hope our main character Rachel continues to fight the good fight.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Pedophilia, and Stalking

haleysversion's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

the_pink_pharmacist's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

vldestefano's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence