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erica_reads_things's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Death, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gaslighting, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Blood, Gun violence, and Body horror
cursivewolf'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death, Body shaming, Sexual violence, and Stalking
faythfarrar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Rape, and Child abuse
chloseencounter'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
I initially rated this book a 3.5 but the longer I’ve sat with it, the more impact it’s had on me. I’ll say right off the bat that this wasn’t the most “fun” read in the world but the story was gripping and an interesting look into a kidnapping/abuse victim’s psyche.
The way that “Alice” no longer cared about protecting others, she just wanted her own suffering to be over so badly was a bleak but realistic take on living in such a depraved way. Alice really was so deeply manipulated, there was so many times she could’ve gotten away but she was too blinded by her curated reality that she didn’t think it was possible. She was believed so deeply that her captor knew anything and everything even when he was not around.
There was some very interesting commentary in here as well about the bystander effect and how people should really be trying to reach out when they see something they feel may be wrong.
When Alice finally showed her humanity at the end of the story it made her all the more tragic and honestly the ending was probably about as good as I could’ve hoped for her.
Overall, the read was quick and tense, the story itself isn't super plot heavy but if anything this was a very interesting character study. I wouldn’t recommend this read to everyone, it was challenging and raw but that doesn’t mean these subject matters don’t need to be said or heard. This one was really a sleeper hit with me, I finished feeling as if it was well written but too abrupt however the lasting impact this novel has left on me is a lot more than I can say for many books.
I’d lastly like to commend the author on being able to tell a story with a lot of SA in it without having to go into descriptive detail about those actions once…things were alluded to, they were implied, they were said, but they were never broken down for us in a very detailed way. I think this makes the book mean more and feel less like it was created for shock value, as well as making this story more digestible to a larger audience. Just because this kind of stuff really does happen and we should speak about it doesn’t mean that we ever need to write detailed descriptions about non consensual s*xual acts especially between adults and minors. This book definitely proves that there’s a way to say it without saying it.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
brookey8888's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Rape, Body shaming, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, and Violence
the_escapist'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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Violence, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, and Confinement
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Violence, Eating disorder, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Body shaming, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, Incest, Sexism, Stalking, Fatphobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Minor: Suicide attempt