Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'
Die Schönste im ganzen Land by Serena Valentino, Disney Book Group
4 reviews
reading_books_as_escapism_lol's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, War, Toxic relationship, Torture, Grief, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Blood, Gore, Emotional abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting
housedesignerking's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Mental illness, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death and Death of parent
shannasbookshelf's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
This. Book.
Part of me wants to leave my review at that, but at the same time, I want to leave a more in-depth review. So here we are.
I read one chapter the night of June 27 before going to bed, and the next day, I just devoured it. I loved this book so much. Although I do understand where some of the lesser-star-rating reviews came from. It was a bit hard to decipher her whole villain arc since the book did give the Queen a more sympathetic personality. However, this was something I was okay with and something that worked well within the story - the Queen was pushed to madness and obsession by grief and possible PTSD, but definitely trauma, to the point of being an evil queen and fulfilling the whole "evil stepmother" trope. (Also, there were some reviews that mentioned the Queen not having a name. This didn't bother me because the King didn't have a name either, so...I don't quite understand why people were bent out of shape because of this.)
Part of me also feels hypocritical for enjoying this because when the 2021 Cruella came out, I was not for it, and I couldn't make it past 50% of the way through the movie. And my reasoning for this is that Disney's trying to give a sympathetic backstory to a character (Cruella) who really didn't need it. I could argue the same with this book - an attempt to give a sympathetic backstory to a Disney villain who really didn't need it. However. I feel like it's important to note how the actual stories are handled. On one side, the 2021 Cruella movie: a mess of a story, the cast was meh at best, and Emma Thompson and the costuming were the only saving graces. On the other hand, the 2009 Fairest of All book: story is well put together while harking back to the source material, a more understandable, relatable reason for the villain arc, and overall decent character arcs and stories. I do recommend this book because it's a great take on the Evil Queen's backstory and it's so cohesive, both as its own story and standing with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. If you're a child and/or not comfortable with swearing, read the spoiler at your own risk.
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: War, Abandonment, and Violence
Spoiler
The King's three distant cousins are major bitches. I hate them so much - first taunting Snow with those stories, then blaming their muddy clothes on her - like, what the fuck?! Also, we learn that the Magic Mirror is the Queen's dead (?) dad and was an asshole in life makes so much sense and just makes me hate the Mirror more. Also, the way I ended up taking the Queen's story reading this was, because of her grief after her husband's death and trauma from verbal abuse from her father in childhood, she descended into this obsession-like madness with the Mirror and being beautiful in her father's eyes. This doesn't make her actions right or forgivable, but it does make her a more sympathetic villain with actions that were understandable. (Take Cruella as a contrast - by her adulthood, she had no real reason to want revenge because her life was good, and her "revenge" could have simply just been to be better at fashion than the Baroness and rise above the Baroness on the fashion social ladder. But no, which made no sense.)z_thatsit's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Child abuse
Moderate: Blood, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Addiction, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Gaslighting, Infertility, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Pregnancy, and War