Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Girlcrush by Florence Given

24 reviews

the_lesbrarian's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Still gathering my thoughts. If Girlcrush had leaned heavier into horror, a la The Substance or Patricia Wants To Cuddle, I think this could’ve been great. 

I really enjoyed the variation in prose in the novel’s last third that  was perfectly disjointed and paced to demonstrate a psychological descent-into-madness type narration. However, I’m not even sure if that was the intent. 

I thought up until the very end that this was a twisty genre horror thriller following a deeply, deeply flawed victim, but the epilogue instead reframes the entire novel to become a strangely out of touch and unbelievable sci fi rom com. 
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Sexism, and Sexual violence

No instances of psychosis/schizophrenia however the way in which certain events are framed may be triggering

the line between a virtual world and real life becomes very blurred. The narrator cannot determine if events are real or imagined and other characters lie to them about it.

untanglingbooks's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

Spoilers hidden :)

It was definitely a book that I enjoyed reading. It was easy and fun to read.
And I found the main character quite relatable - at least at the beginning. But she seemed to be less and less relatable and became completely obsessed with her social media personality and her manager.

And she went on some pretty strange dates even though she was always thinking about Phaedra. Sad that they didn’t end up together.

I really loved Rose as Eartha’s best friend (and very nice that there was an nb “main” character included). I was also a big fan of Phaedra

who sadly was completely ignored in the last part of the book.

The ending was okay, but

I really would have wished for a big apology towards both Rose and Phaedra at the end.

 

I’d say it’s definitely a good book with lots of queer representation but if you don’t want to scream “Stop it!” at the main character in every chapter, it’s probably not the best choice :D

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Sexual content

Moderate: Biphobia and Gaslighting

thebookishowl4's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Misogyny

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review against another edition

2.25

I love florence given. But i had a hard time liking this book. I love the writing, but the plot was a bit confusing. At the end it makes sense but the middle bit was hard for me to get through. I would recommend this for women in their 20s that had been through some tough times. Not for everyone... 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

Abuse of power

shaylees's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

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

1.25

This book felt unfocused, and like it couldn’t decide whether it wanted to spoonfeed and spell out all the most basic ideas of white western feminism or force you to read between the lines to have any understanding of what’s actually meant by the words on the page. Rose was really loveable,

and I would have loved to see more of them, or at least have their story wrapped up in some way?

, the settings for parties and sex scenes were very engaging and immersive, and the premise has a lot of promise. However, this book needed a few more rounds of editing, a lot more fleshing out, and maybe a sensitivity reader or some more research on the queer nightlife scene. That said, I am definitely interested in seeing what this author does in the future with a bit more experience! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, and Alcohol

wilbur42's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Minor: Self harm

megspiteri's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

2.75

I really don't know how to feel about this book. Some parts really made me think about the concepts of influencers and cancel culture and felt very much like an episode of black mirror. But other bits I just did not get. I didn't like or understand the directors notes that were occasionally included. The ending was pointless too, I felt that there needed to be a big revelation or something and it just ended. Some parts were scarily relatable and could easily happen but overall I just didn't get it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Sexual content

Moderate: Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault

kenzibir's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Man I have mixed feelings about this book! I enjoyed it, it has some important messages in it, but I was hoping for more of a queer romance book. Definitely worth the read but prepare yourself for a darker plot than you you think it’ll be! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

emminkirjakasa's review against another edition

emotional inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

Absolutely loved the start of the book, and that i would give 5 stars. The ending loses one star, since i think there was a bit too much going on. If the book was just about Eartha, Rose, and Mona, dating girls for the first time, trying to find yourself after coming out, then i would have loooved the book. When all the shit went down in the last 1/3 of the book, i lost the one star. 

+ Bisexual representation and great examples of biphobia that was easy to relate as a bi girl.
+ Non-binary character!! Always love that!
+ You could feel Florence through the book. The music, the apartment, the pink hair.
+ Shows just how toxic social media can be.
+ The descriptions of depression were extremely accurate.

- Director's notes felt a bit out of context for the book.
- Ending felt a bit rushed and many characters just got left out from the story.

- The sexual assault storyline felt a bit rushed and the fact that it was just hinted and not actually said out loud made if feel a bit weird.

I forgot that the book was set in 2030 and actually didn't make any difference to the story that i just thought it was a 2023 but in alternative universe where Instagram is Wonderland, Tinder is Fire and London is Olympia.

I will be reading the new book that comes out next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Mental illness, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

Minor: Homophobia

itsme_lucy_hi's review

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, and Sexual assault

Minor: Biphobia