Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor

42 reviews

megan_wy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

There were a lot of plot twists in this book. I listened to it on audiobook, so it was a little confusing for me to visualize and follow all of the different characters in the town and many storylines. I enjoyed it, but the many plot lines and few plot holes threw me off at times. I wish they condensed it and chose one or two of the stories to follow as opposed to so many. Overall, it definitely was a dark thriller that I enjoyed. I just needed to take more mental notes to keep track of all the characters in the story and be less confused 🤣 I enjoyed Jack as a character, and learning about her truth at the end was a big shock! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia

hexedmaiden's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Child death

Minor: Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy

ioana00's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Murder

_readerfromtheblacklagoon_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Vomit, Stalking, and Pregnancy

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Spooky small village setting with spooky residents? Check. Ramping up the tension and eeriness? Check. Untrustworthy characters with complicated histories? Oh yes. All classic Tudor tropes I've come to love and The Burning Girls didn't disappoint.

This story had a lot of side plots to keep straight, and while I appreciated all the connections (and guessed one of them like a proper sleuth!), by the end there were an awful lot of mysterious deaths with different explanations. I know we're not looking for realism in a horror like this, but it did get a little far fetched for one tiny Sussex village!

That said, I loved Jack and Flo; Jack might be the best fictional vicar I've ever encountered. And the creepy was creeping hard, which I absolutely loved.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying and Rape

joslynhebda's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Murder

pbandjane_library's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Bullying

clarkg's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

While the story itself is compelling and well-written, this book has some serious problems with regards to its representations of Black, disabled, and queer people. There is a particularly gruesome depiction of Black, queer, low-income women that leans heavily on violent "welfare queen" stereotypes, made worse by the fact that the book has no positive examples of people of color in its main cast of characters. Additionally, this book contains a disability trope/storyline that I found to be in extremely poor taste. I believe in giving people grace and room to grow, but at least within the confines of this story, I wish that the author had been more mindful of how her choices work to reinforce harmful societal narratives about marginalized communities. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Dementia

rubys100's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Death

Moderate: Suicide and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Dementia, and Alcohol

lindseylosers's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Outing