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ksamaine95's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Murder, Child death, Violence, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Adult/minor relationship
jules6469's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Child death, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Drug abuse
Minor: Suicide and Murder
evegerbrandt's review
4.75
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Drug abuse and Grief
boomwormbrittany's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I really wanted to love this book as I have enjoyed Courtney Summers other books but this one just didn't the way that her other ones do. I think part of the problem I had was this discussion that Courney Summers was trying to have about the situation of men exploring young girls (*cough* Epstein *cough*) for their own sexual satisfaction and what that does to a young girl. This book is written for a Young Adult audience so there is only so much that can really be discussed especially in this page count.
This book almost felt aimless to me when I was reading it. Georgia has this obsession with this club that her mother used to work and being one of the girls that works there in the executive suites. And while that is a focus of this book, it only really ties into whats in the cover synopsis at the end. It was trying to have the discussion I put above but also held back on discussing it. Which I completely understand as this issue is something that is hard to digest as an adult let alone a young person. I think this book was trying to show the manipulation tactics older predators will use to get girls to think this is okay but from the jump I could see what was going on.
I did like the fact that Georgia is a lesbian and identifies herself as such and I did think her relationship with Nora was interesting since they're trying to solve Ashley, Nora's younger sisters, murder.
I wish Georgia was a little more curious and not as hell bent as being one of these girls in this club. It becomes her whole personality and I couldn't see the girl she actually was beyond the "I hate my mother" rhetoric she kept spewing and her absolute obsession with the girls who worked at this club. I wish we had gotten more of her personality and who she was so we could feel some form of sympathy or connection to her even if she is supposed ot be an unlikable mian character.
I feel like the last scene in this book should have been impactful but I didn't feel satisfied.
Overall, I would say give this a try if you think the premise is interesting. I just thought this book felt aimless and didn't fully hit as hard as her others books did.
Moderate: Rape, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, and Sexual violence
Minor: Suicide
aquariusisms's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
having read both sadie and now this from courtney summers, i can say with certainty she's a master at writing complex, flawed, sometimes unlikeable but always loveable teenage girls. georgia was often infuriating to read as our protagonist, but only because her naivete and desperation for external validation of her worth (mainly through others validating her beauty) were achingly true to life and will make adult readers want to save her from her poor decisions. she wanted so much, was desperate for so much more in her life, and i wanted so much more for her. her relationships with her brother, mother, and nora were raw and heartbreaking and i saw myself in the way she struggled to make sense of her place in a world not built for her.
the themes here were so strong too- summers asks big questions such as: can girls and women truly manipulate the power dynamics between them and men, or is men's historical and empirical power over them inescapable? and: if dismantling patriarchy is a long and achingly slow process, and we as individuals can't do much about that, how do we build worlds for ourselves in the meantime, full of care and love? how do we dream of better futures outside of the structures of beauty we've been taught?
ultimately, this book is a treatise on grieving the girls and women who have been victims of systemic male violence in a world that makes that grief feel utterly isolating, and justice futile and powerless. this story calls it like it is and courtney summers does not pull punches when it comes to discussing how bleak and horrible the world can be to girls and women, especially those who are multiply marginalized. but the final message is ultimately about resilience, grasping at hope in the wake of trauma, and carving out space for yourself in a world that would rather see you disappear. it's about discovering the truth, defining beauty as you see it, and refusing to erase yourself and your values for the sake of assimilation and patriarchal power.
i'm only knocking it down 0.5 stars because i felt the pacing was a little off at times, and i think the protagonist's views of beauty = self-worth could have been interrogated more- but that said, it was still a completely engrossing and vitally important thriller, and i recommend picking it up if you can stomach the different triggers within.
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Rape, Violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Alcohol and Drug abuse
onemamareads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, and Violence
chl0reads's review
- 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
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
theremightbecupcakes's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Car accident, Child death, Grief, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Rape, and Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Violence
cholliworth's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Rape, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Death, Child death, Death of parent, and Abandonment
directorpurry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Police brutality