Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Pretend I'm Dead

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Pretend I'm Dead by Jen Beagin

19 reviews

sallyrooneystanclub's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

4.5

All the trigger warnings. Do I love or hate this. Dark. Tbf I found it by googling unhinged female books and I guess that's what I got.

Content Warnings

karpatenhund's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

jolearra's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Loved this book. Reminds me a lot of Chuck Palaniuk’s writing.

Content Warnings

gralicia's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved this! There were a few dark detours down Mona's memories that were confronting, but important.

I thought the 4 chapters based on different interactions and characters was a great way to pace the book; almost 4 short stories that interwove.

I just read that there is a sequel and I'll be heading out to find it asap!

Content Warnings

laurakfinnegan's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

starsandgutters's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I love female protagonists who feel like they’re constantly toeing the precipice of entirely unhinged.

More vibes than plot, and most of the plot tends to be the unfolding of other people’s lives that Mona is just a witness to, nicely enforcing how stagnant and stuck she feels in her life.

Very strong narrative voice, and some absolute BANGERS of lines in here.

Darkly humorous, quietly perceptive, keenly human in the grittiest ways.

Would have rated this higher for the writing, but minus points for unnecessary use of slurs and racism - kept waiting for a consequence to this but it never came, and personally feel there’s never a need for authors to be throwing around slurs they can’t reclaim.

Content Warnings

arianaf's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

"Usually she enjoyed a good oven cleaner buzz, but just then she wanted to pull a Sylvia Plath."

Who else read this because of the big hole left by Big Swiss? This one, way darker, darker themes, darker characters but the same kind of humour and mundane descriptions of a day-to-day life of a mentally unstable woman, that (hopefully) you can't relate in many levels, but you're still rooting for her.

Content Warnings