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vixenreader's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Rape, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Cultural appropriation
Be aware that this book addresses extreme cults, “brainwashing,” mental abuse, mass suicide, financial abuse, and gaslighting through language.pilicreads's review against another edition
4.0
Montell brings wisdom, solace, compassion, and education to her readers and to the subjects she writes about.
My biggest takeaway from this book was much less about cults and language (though that is of course present) and much more about the joys and perils of seeking a sense of community, spirituality, and purpose.
The book can at times feel like a student trying to reach the word count, but usually Montell’s anecdotes bring a colorful, nuanced perspective to the varied topics she discusses. I do wish that some of her anecdotes (because there are MANY) were sometimes swapped out for more empirical research.
Consider me a #MontellGroupie! ;)
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Murder
goldkat's review against another edition
4.5
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Murder, and Sexual harassment
wright_rendon_reads's review against another edition
5.0
This book combines two of my special interests: language and cults. This book is split into sections covering cults and cult(ish) groups: religious groups, self-help groups, MLMs, fitness groups, and online influencers/political groups. The book doesn't claim all of these are cults but that they do use language that cult groups tend to use like thought terminating cliches and love bombing.
This book was interesting, thought provoking, funny, and informative. I found myself turning it on even for a short drive to pick up food. (I listened to it on audiobook). I greatly enjoyed this as my last summer read before school started.
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicide
Minor: Body shaming, Racial slurs, Racism, and Religious bigotry
These content tags are based more on frequency of mentioning rather than going into detail.yeojinqueen's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
eldritch_flower's review against another edition
5.0
This book does talk about some of the more well known cults to give foundation to the points Montell makes later in the book, but what I found most interesting was the parallels between those cults and the groups she brings up as "cultish" like MLMs and certain gym groups, and even some influencers.
The book has a heavy focus on language, which I'm sure you can gather from the title. The language of conversion is incredibly compelling and interesting.
But beyond that, the book is topical as it was written and released after June of 2020, so the anti-masker idiocy and QAnon bullshittery is also included in this with poignant commentary.
If you have ever had even a passing interest in learning about cults, it's worth the read. I definitely had fun with it and I feel like I came out of it with new knowledge(as someone who's been reading about cults for more than a decade, I think that's a pretty big feat).
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Gaslighting
j_squaredd's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Racial slurs, and Rape