Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Sawkill Girls, by Claire Legrand

9 reviews

directorpurry's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Gun violence, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Moderate: Death of parent and Suicidal thoughts

emmaward55's review against another edition

dark sad tense

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

4.75

This book is perfect for anyone who loves the Charmed TV series and thought it could be scarier.

When I was on chapter four, my working theory was that the missing girls were being turned into horses by Val and her mum: But oh, it's so much darker than that. I love a good horror film, yet I found myself more creeped out in reading this book than I expected to be. Legrand's writing is evocative, tense, and atmospheric, without getting too bogged down in description. There's plenty of action and moments of good character growth throughout.

I read this book in two days, mostly in three long chunks, as I couldn't drag myself away to focus on anything else! I loved the complex relationships of our three protagonists and their characterisations have to be a highlight for me. Can't lie though, I’m sad that we didn’t get a reunion scene at the end between Marion and her mum. Considering that this is a book about female relationships, it feels weird to not include one of the protagonists interacting with the last present female parent of the trio. 

That being said, the above was my only real complaint. I'd certainly read this book again and I recommend it for anyone with a strong stomach!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Blood, Self harm, Child death, Violence, Torture, Animal death, Gore, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, and Sexual content

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Miscarriage

Child death and kidnapping:

Spoiler

All are around 17

Self harm:

Spoiler

The only instance I remember is a character burning something off their skin, but it's done to save themselves and others

Drug abuse and suicidal thoughts:

Spoiler

A secondary character isn't trusted with their prescription medication, as a loved one suspects they might intentionally overdose. Nothing actually happens and it's just a brief mention.

oliverreeds's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

pretty good. the character relationships were stilted at the beginning. i didnt understand their motivations but it made sense at the end. i just wish there had been more friendship initially. would have provided a better foundation

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Police brutality, Self harm, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Acephobia/Arophobia, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Toxic relationship

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Violence, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Moderate: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Sexual content, Cursing, Biphobia, Bullying, Blood, and Body horror

Minor: Gun violence, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

elliesberrie's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Death, Blood, Grief, Child death, and Bullying

Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, Sexual content, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Car accident and Alcohol

cajesp's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

i throughly enjoyed this book! i’m really surprised how much i came to love val after hating her for most of the first 1/2 of the book but now she’s my favourite character. great character development, world-building, just the right amount of horror and the relationships between the girls was a delight to read. i loved every girl so much and i loved their journey throughout the book. it was a surprisingly great read, i would definitely recommend this one but please be aware of the horror elements, some of the descriptions may be graphic for others! also bonus points for being sapphic and having ace representation!! so great to see :)  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, and Physical abuse

Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Animal death

blurrycat's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

starlessnights's review against another edition

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcohol, Car accident, Cursing, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism

Minor: Vomit

marieketron's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A pretty average read compared to weird (monster) mysteries I read last year. The inclusion and diversity elements were really strong, to the point of occasionally feeling like the reader is being mildly lectured, but I appreciated the message that just because someone regrets and repents for their actions doesn't mean you're obliged to forgive them. The monster elements felt relatively tame, and I felt like the plot could have been a lot shorter, but overall a fine read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Animal death, Death, Child death, Gore, Body horror, Blood, Vomit, Sexual violence, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Rape, Bullying, Confinement, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Minor: Cursing