Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Girl A by Abigail Dean

33 reviews

lovelymisanthrope's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I received a copy of this book as a gift.
"Girl A" follows Lex Gracie, a woman who has spent the majority of her life trying to forget about her family. Lex was one of the siblings that grew up in the infamous House of Horrors, and she was the one who escaped and finally brought the torment to an end. Her father did not make it out of their home, and her mother has been in prison ever since. Her siblings were all adopted by different families and do not see much of each other anymore. But, when Lex learns that her mother has died and left her the rest of her possessions, including the house, Lex feels compelled to finally face what happened all those years ago.
I was so pleasantly surprised with this novel. This is not a thriller in the traditional way, but it definitely is mysterious. We know what ultimately happens to most of the characters, but we do not know how and we do not necessarily know how they are doing in their adult lives as they try to cope with the fallout from their childhood. There is one big "reveal" that I did anticipate, but I was not left feeling let down that I figured it out early on.
Lex is an interesting point of view to read from. Her life was irreversibly altered by the decisions her parents made, and it is difficult to read about the horrors she has faced, but she seems so strong. Some of her siblings have really struggled ever since their escape, and although Lex is clearly affected, she manages to seem the most levelheaded.
Each sibling gets a dedicated chapter, and we get to learn what their life was like in childhood and then what it was like trying to overcome their trauma. Each sibling handled things very differently, but it was still so interesting to see. There was one sibling in particular that made me very angry. They knew much more than they let on back then, and even contributed to the abuse in their own way. They seem so put together now, and I think it was because they did not face the same fear as their siblings. They do not deserve the beautiful life they have created, and I was angry learning of the transgressions against their siblings they committed.
The pacing of this book felt slow, but there was always so much happening, and we were learning so much about the characters that it ended up feeling very appropriately paced.
Overall, I was content with the resolution. I think the siblings are all moving on the best they can, and I think Lex made the best decision she could about the house.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a quiet mystery laced with family drama. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

cyndi1966's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Alcoholism and Pregnancy

applepieandeve's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

denijaaa_s's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content

carmencolette's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

sam_is_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, and Death of parent

taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.0

 Girl A by Abigail Dean was good, but I wish it focused more on the actual events than the legal aftermath. I am absolutely fascinated by cult behavior, and found the aspects of this novel that explained her parents unraveling into religious cult mentality fascinating. I think this novel fell short, however, since the scenes where she is interacting with her siblings as an adult are drawn out and overflowing with what feels like filler information. I think the transitions are a bit hard to follow, but overall I did enjoy the story and the information it pulls from the Turpin family case brings this work of fiction so much closer to reality. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, and Grief

bedtimesandbooks's review

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

infinite_rest's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Torture

carobllt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Kidnapping