Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Normal People, by Sally Rooney

433 reviews

ciarrav's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Eating disorder

laladubose's review

emotional 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/injury detail, Eating disorder, and Sexual assault

bookish_garden's review

emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Domestic abuse

samjesperw's review

emotional reflective fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Drug use, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, and Emotional abuse

solanum's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Suicide, Bullying, Violence, and Eating disorder

kwansbff's review

emotional reflective sad 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

3.25

I liked the format of this book; I felt that the flow of the story worked nicely with the way time moved. We would witness a moment of their relationship, skip a few months, and then see how that moment caused a progression rather than watching the progression itself. Spelled out that might sound lazy, but I think it worked. At times, I did find the two main characters relatable, specifically in their struggle to find where they fit into the adult world. It was poignant to me as a college student. There were also moments I found them annoying and deeply flawed, though I suppose that just made them feel more like real people. 
My biggest gripe had to do with the relationship itself. Marianne is clearly a very traumatized and insecure person (for all Connell says she isn't, she is definitely full of insecurities) and throughout the book this only gets worse with the relationships she finds herself in. I didn't like that Connell was posed as the better alternative to a bunch of shittier guys. Sure, maybe he is 'better', but he lacks a level of emotional maturity and self-awareness. Every time he gets an inkling of how he might actually be negatively impacting Marianne, he doesn't look further. He just acknowledges it and moves on. On the surface this isn't a bad thing--I love books that focus solely on characters' dynamics and relationships, even if they're toxic or bad for them. However, this didn't do it for me, because it all felt very surface-level. The writing style and form, or perhaps the author herself, didn't allow for a deeper look into the characters. I especially didn't like how every Marianne section was either entirely centered around Connell or a different situation that would further traumatize her. I felt I was learning way more about Connell and his development than Marianne, which again, is not necessarily a bad thing if it was only from his perspective. It could have said something about how he views her. However, she had her own moments to develop, positively or negatively, and I don't think these were utilized as well as Connell's. When I got to the end, I kind of felt like I had only read half the story. An ambiguous ending could very well have worked with this narrative, but because of the way it had been developed for the past 200 pages, it just felt lazy. Like, a 'you come up with your own ending,' kind of thing. Overall, I didn't hate it, but it left me wanting something more.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault

laylaxm17's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

i want to pick apart every single detail of this book until i understand every line and every word. i love this book so much

“I’m not a religious person but I do sometimes think God made you for me” CONNELL SHUT UP I’LL CRY

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Bullying, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Death, Eating disorder, and Body shaming

abibliophobic_nerd's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

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

1.25

May or may not be dense, but it wasn’t that deep.

This book made a 9 hour flight with crazy turbulences even longer and stressful.

I do want to give it another chance… I think.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Abandonment, and Rape

Minor: Alcohol and Blood

seventy7's review

emotional reflective tense slow-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

4.75

The characters don’t know how to communicate effectively

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Violence, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Death, Sexual content, and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Vomit, Bullying, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcohol and Abortion

Can be really frustrating

qiqiwooo's review

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.25

its okay, it seems pretty forgettable to me (it really feels like nothing happens). Whilst I found comfort in relatable characters and I didn’t really enjoy the writing.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Suicidal thoughts