Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

7 reviews

rorikae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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

3.5

'The Turn of the Key' by Ruth Ware is a thriller with an interesting premise but that I ultimately wanted more from. 
The story is told through a letter that the protagonist, Rowan, is writing to her barrister from jail. A girl in her care has died and the crime has been pinned on her. But Rowan has a story to tell that she believes will exonerate her. 
I really liked that this story was told through letters though this was really only relevant in the beginning and ending as the majority of this narrative is one giant letter that takes up 95% of the book and thus feels more like simple 1st person narration. 
Ware does a good job of injecting the creepier elements of the story so that the reader questions what is really happening right alongside Rowan. This creeping sense of dread grows slowly as the narrative progresses. I do think that a little bit more could have been done with the atmosphere and it did leave me with questions based on a side story that was touched on but never fully resolved. It wasn't crucial to the main plot but I would have liked a bit more closure on that part. The story also hints at Rowan's fate but doesn't fully spell it out without enough details for me to be sure what happened. 
The ultimate truth of the story as it came out was a bit disappointing and I had hoped for more though that is definitely based on my personal preferences for thriller stories. I also don't love Rowan as a character and found her ultimately fairly unlikable and thus hard to root for. 
Though I would be interested to read another book by Ware since I think she does a good job with atmosphere, I would go into it with hesitations since this story wasn't as gripping as I would have hoped for. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Infidelity

hannas_ink_prints's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

Koukuttava ja välillä kylmiäväreitä aiheuttava teos, jossa oli myös surullisia piirteitä. Välillä tuntui että juonta oli turhasti pitkitetty ja tarina haahuili, mutta parhaimmillaan hyytävä thrilleri, joka sitou lukijansa äärelleen. Kompleksinen päähahmo oli myös plussaa, sillä Rowan oli mukava piristys aina kaikkien puhtoisten ja oikeudenmukaisten sankaritarien jälkeen. Hänen hahmonsa tuntuu aidolta vaikka ajoittain turhankin naivilta, siihen nähden kuinka kokenut hoitaja tämä muka on.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Death, Classism, and Child death

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

The futuristic gothic novel I didn’t know I needed. Every moment was infused with stress and dread, I could not put it down. The red herrings kept me guessing and I had no idea how it would end even up to the last page. This is my 5th Ruth Ware book and probably my favourite. All I can say is WOWEE and smart homes are an absolute no for me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Sexual assault

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Cursing, Bullying, and Alcohol

Minor: Stalking, Grief, Classism, Drug use, Sexual content, and Infidelity

mallory10100's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

wow this was a great read. bought it because i love the haunting of bly manor and knew that it’s based on a book called the turn of the screw, and there were so many similarities with the show it was fun. so many great twists at the end that i definitely didn’t see coming!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Infidelity

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual violence, Self harm, Police brutality, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia

Minor: Bullying, Dementia, Excrement, Gore, Infidelity, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death

i loved this book homophobia TW is there bc the author uses the F slur for cigarettes because she’s british

astareads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child death and Infidelity

cp_frey's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I have a hard time with this one. I finished it in mere days because it felt so fast paced to me. However,

Spoiler

I also found myself utterly disgusted by the trope of “evil child”. I understand the hurt the child is feeling, and perhaps evil tricks but murder? No. Feels like a cheap cop-out. If the child is gonna be “evil”

then I’m going to need more than this.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Bullying and Emotional abuse

Minor: Sexual content