Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Where Sleeping Girls Lie

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

64 reviews

leacallida's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Omg
J’ai été happée du début à la fin, je voulais le lire dès que j’avais 2 min de libres, et j’étais tellement investie que je me sentais hyper stressée tout du long
Le roman a pris une tournure que je n’attendais pas du tout, et qui ne m’a fait qu’aimer le roman encore plus. Vraiment attention aux TW par contre !
Une lecture incroyable qui me marquera longtemps, et qui ne me donne qu’encore plus envie de lire l’autre roman de cette autrice.

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amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was a pleasant surprise. I typically read YA as like a palate cleanser, I have been reading more difficult literature lately. But this one was tackling was deep topics, trigger warning beware. While it did take me a minute to get involved in this book, I was hooked at the end.

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clovetra's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

ugh i wish i managed to squeeze this in for sapphic september but alas, it is an october read. which ngl im not too mad at seeing as it fits the vibes.

god i really get why this has so many fans. i was mesmerised with the writing, and all the characters were great.

sade was a wonderful protagonist who immediately gripped me and had me rooting for her; baz is the much needed comic relief yet also has depth to him; persephone was equally mysterious and intriguing; and the cast of ANA mostly didn’t feel flat. i say mostly because im ngl… the way the unholy trinity was built up, i was expecting mean girls 2. instead i got one interesting character and two who felt like they had zero personality outside of “money” and “lacrosse”. i mean hey i like money and lacrosse but ur side characters need more than that i beg. but honestly the characters kept this book going…. because its plot didn’t.

ok that’s so shady esp since im giving this 4-stars. but as someone who mostly vibes when reading…. i guessed the “culprit” like 20% deep. and the clues were JUST beginning to build. not only did i guess the culprit… i guessed the motive. cmon now.

and speaking of the mystery element…. it felt lacklustre. the way the “crime(s)” played out felt predictable and a let-down. i was expecting this book to just keep unravelling with its mystery, but instead i got something that could’ve been solved by the characters like 250 pages in if they stopped dicking about. like as much as i loved seeing sade just living her life, i was expecting a mystery. and instead i got class scenes, lunch scenes, a party, another party, swimming…. im contradicting myself i know. i loved the characters but the things that build them up, i seemingly hated. it’s just that the mystery was so appealing, and yet it felt dragged out because really, it could’ve been solved halfway through the book. it was so insanely simple i thought i was missing some extreme oversight, but no. i guessed most of the plot less than a quarter way through. and that’s fine! a mystery should have breadcrumbs a reader can follow! but when you are touting this as a mystery book…. and it is not a mystery at all what ha happened (/ref)……. yikes.

like i said, i honestly loved the characters so much the lack of complexity didn’t piss me off to the point i hated this book, but i can’t lie and say i loved this. if this was marketed as a contemporary? sign me up man. literally any other genre & i would’ve loved this. but the mystery was not mystery-ing for me.

i liked the mystery surrounding sade’s background.. but i have the same thing about her past to say about the plot itself. it was a letdown. i will say i didn’t guess what it ended up being, but when the book is pointing you in one direction, and then ends up dragging you to another and, and that end is disappointing compared to the other end…… yet again a chop for me!

anyways tldr i love sade but homegirl please stop having meet cutes with like 3 ppl at once and solve the mystery. i support you but also god damn girl let’s get the show moving and figure out what happened!

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jessiejonesbentley's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

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cyannaslibrary's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

This book is the perfect fall read, especially for September and October. 🍂 All the twists and turns left me shocked and reeling, though I did predict one of them but it still shocked nonetheless.

But one of my complaints is how flat Sade’s character seemed to be. It just felt her only personality trait was how much she loves swimming and

her dead sister

, she didn’t really have a distinctive personality to me. Another thing I didn’t like was how fast Persephone and Sade’s relationship moved towards the end, I wish it had more build up and didn’t feel so rushed. And lastly, Juliette was also a flat character to me. Persephone and April all were involved in the main story in some way, but Juliette felt more like a background character than actual side character like how Basil was. Maybe she could’ve had a crush on Jude or been more involved in finding Elizabeth because one of the things about her character is that she likes true crime (which is only mentioned once by the way). Also, it’s implied that she’s lying about having a boyfriend but it never goes anywhere from what I remember, which is just really disappointing to me. Her character just felt unfinished.

Onto the things I did like about the book. The mystery really pulls you in and was overall really interesting. I also like how April didn’t act like the typical queen-bee character, she was cold and aloof which I really liked about her character. And Francis being the only decent guy throughout this entire book was shocking but predicted. I just wish we got more insight on April and August’s relationship with their parents, the glimpse we got seemed really interesting. Same goes for Persephone and Basil.

Overall, good book but could’ve been better.

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quinzelle's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Man holy shit. WSGL has been on my TBR and I think I borrowed it on Libby in the spring but I just didn't get into it so I was thrilled to give it another chance with the Booktwt Book Club. I started reading the book while high and got SUCKED in and spent the next like 24 hours (after doing readings for school) just inhaling the book. I finally finished it late last night and there were so many twists and turns that I had to refrain from yelling out loud because my partner was sleeping next to me. There were so many little clues that Àbíké-Íyímídé kept laying down and there were moments when something happened that I was like "oh this is going to be relevant later" and IT WAS and it felt so nice to be rewarded for noticing those details. I also really loved the anagram and puzzle that was put in, I just wish that the ebook version had those blown up so I could analyze them more. Anyways fuck Jude, fuck August and I'm so glad Muffin is okay.

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almirareads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

One thing about Faridah, she’s gonna write the HELL out of a mystery. I know it’s 400 pages, but I truly felt gripped the entire time, and finished it in two days. We were given PLOT, we were given secret society (disgusting as it was), we were given ANAGRAMS AND MORSE CODE!! This book also feels so real, but I can see the factors that are healing. Reminder to mentally prep and read Faridah’s letter before you begin the book! Taking care of yourself while consuming media is SO IMPORTANT. I will also say that though the disappointments, tension, and terrors of this book are overwhelming and real, the additional themes of friendship, perseverance, and justice mean so much.

The way Faridah writes her characters and their relationships is superb. Sade and Baz’s dynamic has got to be one of my favorite friendship dynamics I’ve gotten to read. I loved watching their friendship develop. The ONLY reason I’m knocking off points is because I remember there being so much talk about the Black lesbian romance element of the book, only to be disappointed

with the slowest slow burn known to man. Occasional flirting that barely read as flirting, THEY’RE FEELINGS NEVER REALLY TRULY DISCUSSED EXCEPT FOR A KISS WITH 6 PAGES LEFT IN THE BOOK AND A BRIEF “OH I’M DATING PERSEPHONE BTW” IN THE EPILOGUE, like FARIDAH BABES COME ONNNN

The unsettling nature of August and Jude’s characters were also so well written. I knew nearly from the jump that they were dangerous, being very on edge with every one-on-one moment Sade had with them, and that tension is definitely intentional

.

This book also does a lot to show each character who is a survivor of some sort of trauma recreating their own narrative, as well as making things right for those who have passed on due to various traumas. This definitely is the main thing I hope readers can take away from the book, difficult as it may be. Stand firmly in the truth and shift the paradigm so that those who have wronged may be rightfully punished (though society will always uplift the fragile, evil patriarchy by any means).

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realhousewifeofthelibrary's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I loved the characters in this book (Baz was my favorite) and when the book got good IT GOT GOOD but it could have easily been 100-150 pages shorter. I felt like it didn’t really pop off until about page 200, but I’m glad I kept reading.

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kierrareads_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

she ate. and Jude deserved it.

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es1265's review against another edition

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Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Very difficult to read at times but very well-written, also loved the main character

(altho obvs fuck the fishermen)

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