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clovetra's review against another edition
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
i’ve done it folks. i’ve found the worst fucking book to exist. i think i am an avid Hater of this book.
why did i finish this? it ended up being a hate read. plus i was curious if it would redeem itself (spoiler alert: it didn’t. not even close).
now immediately, away from the actual story. why was this book so fucking racist and ableist and pro-pedophilia. a side character is called “Joe the R[-slur]”. what the fuck. the n-word, HARD R, is used for a description when it could’ve easily been omitted. what the fuck. pedophilia is essentially portrayed as admirable in this story, and most of its pages contain grown men fantasising about girls who died as CHILDREN. why are grown men in-text writing about a minor having sex? why is a grown man as an AUTHOR writing about a minor having sex????? lowkey explicitly???? yes i realise YA is written by adults and sometimes contains sex scenes. but my god it’s like a “flash forward” most of the time. why am i reading about luxx sucking off a guy. hey what the fuck this girl is like 15 years old let’s not. what goes through the authors’ mind where he’s like “mmm i’m gonna write with explicit detail this minor having sex! yeah that’s not odd.” and miss me with that “oh this book came out a long time ago it was a different time.” mf this book came out in fucking 93. you’re telling me racism and pedophilia weren’t a thing in 1993. sure i get the casual ableism (miss me with ur comments im disabled) because it’s still very normalised to this day!!! but you cannot convince me the n-word was needed here. or the 75 different scenes describing how promiscuous lux is. i don’t care.
the actual book was less interesting than paint drying. i thought we’d actually get an interesting story. but no. i read about the horny mc and his friends simping over these girls for 90% of the book, with celia’s suicide tackled decently at the beginning & the rest of the girl’s suicides feeling like an afterthought. you set up a book about how all the girls commit suicide, and have 4/5 of the suicides occur with less than 20% of the book left. are you kidding me. the rest of this book was senseless drivel covering the same exhausting song and dance, where we learn absolutely nothing about the lisbon girls beyond their superficial traits and how fucking horny their classmates are. for fucks sake i couldn’t give two shits about how they were “mesmerised” by the “enigmatic lisbon girls”. hey here’s some quick advice go fuck yourself.
pick a struggle ur book can’t be boring AND ableist, racist, and pedophilic.
i am actually so angry at this book. i am so angry i don’t think i can properly explain how much i fucking hate this book.
i am actually so angry at this book. i am so angry i don’t think i can properly explain how much i fucking hate this book.
what a waste of time. this book has as much depth as my minecraft fanfiction from grade 3. actually no i take that back my fanfiction was better than this. fuck you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Sexual content, and Stalking
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Pregnancy
aichaa's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content
Minor: Racial slurs and Self harm
7thirty8's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
pov ur a man
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Racial slurs
smallpanini's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
"The Virgin Suicides" by Jeffrey Eugenides is a haunting exploration of adolescence, memory, and the enigma of the Lisbon sisters, five mysterious girls who captivate their suburban neighborhood. Eugenides masterfully captures the suffocating atmosphere of 1970s American suburbia, blending melancholy with moments of dark humor. The narrative, told from the collective perspective of the neighborhood boys, offers a unique and distant viewpoint that adds to the novel's eerie, dreamlike quality. However, the detachment of the narration and the ambiguity surrounding the girls' lives left me craving more depth and emotional connection. While the prose is undeniably beautiful and evocative, the novel's elusive nature made it challenging to immerse fully. Overall, it's a poignant, if somewhat distant, meditation on loss and longing, earning a solid 3.75 stars."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Ableism, Racial slurs, and Alcohol
emmabagshaw's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
echaurz's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
aged absolutely horrendously
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Ableism, Racial slurs, and Racism
gracebrady's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-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? It's complicated
2.75
Really slow with unnecessary racism and ableism. Monotonous details from the brains of boys that I wasn’t really interested in. However, I enjoyed the mystery surrounding the Lisbon girls, but I would’ve enjoyed it more from someone else’s point of view. The movie is fairly true to the book, but I think it’s all a little too slow for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Ableism, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Blood
maiahhtratchh's review against another edition
dark
reflective
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
This book kept me on the edge of the seat and was very mysterious giving nothing away even at the end. It has a great commentary on American culture including purity culture, religion, and girlhood all experienced through the voyeuristic lens of the male gaze, specifically teenage boys. How they viewed the Lisbon girls and their inability to truly see them or want to actively help them had my skin crawling which is the point. The Lisbon girls exist on page only as two dimensional characters who, unbeknownst to the boys, are crying out for help. However these nuances play out do subtly on the page that only a true understanding of the Lisbon girls can be understood if you were, at one point, a Lisbon girl. After reading I scoured the internet for essays, videos, and fanfics that were able to put my scrambled and shocked thoughts into a concise narrative but I have only found small pieces spread throughout it. If you were a big English Literature kid who loves to look for the deeper meanings this book is for you. A point was taken off for unnecessary racism and racial slurs which took me out of the story immensely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Confinement, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Religious bigotry
avasbookmark's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Suicide, Blood, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Ableism and Racial slurs
tarajoy90's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Ableism, Racial slurs, and Racism