Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Four by Ellie Keel

22 reviews

nixbix_reads's review

dark emotional slow-paced

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

1.0

I didn’t think I’d ever find a book I disliked to the same level as Verity, but here we are.  With a complete cast of entirely unlikeable characters, we meet the four scholarship students as they enter High Realms, a prestigious high school for the elite of the elite.  They soon find that no-one wants them there, including the teachers, and that they will be horrifically bullied.  This does turn into bullying porn because no student is safe at this school; these jackals will turn on each other at the slightest hint of provocation.

Then something happens & one of the head students is hurt because of one of the four, and they make one dumb decision after another, carrying on beyond any version of common sense.  I can suspend belief for plot lines, but this was just some ridiculously contrived BS.  This dragged on for far too long - there was so much that could have been edited out & nothing would have been missed.

I did like the map & the cover is stunning.

Trigger warnings: bullying, sexual assault, mental breakdown, suicide.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Classism, Mental illness, Suicide, and Sexual assault

el_speth's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

ellahoward_'s review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm

Minor: Sexual assault

shadymist's review

dark emotional mysterious 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? N/A

4.5

I enjoyed this book very much. It’s been widely praised on TikTok and I can see why. A fantastic read and hard to put down. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying and Child death

Minor: Pregnancy, Self harm, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Mental illness

romy91's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Dark, twisty and emotional.
Some complex and difficult topics explored but with compelling and thoughtful writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Bullying, and Sexual assault

pageswithamber's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicide, Sexual assault, Self harm, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Confinement, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Blood, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Grief

fictionalsarah's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Rape, Self harm, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Gore, Vomit, Death, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Sexual content and Classism

Minor: Death of parent

georgie_rose_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

things I liked:
• the setting was beautiful, High Realms (the school) was so vivid in my mind - I loved the vibes of the first 20%
• audio narration was good - it was read by Ellie’s friend Ell Potter and they have an interesting chat/interview at the end
• lgbt rep
• the ‘four’ characters themselves were fleshed out imo - although some of the other characters were confusing 
• as this is a debut I’m excited to read more Ellie Keel in the future!

things I didn’t:
• it was quite long and lacked direction at times
• it seemed like the author grabbed a thesaurus and threw in big words in for the sake of it where they didn’t make sense and to make it sound ‘academic’ and pretentious
• romantic relationships were so random / out of nowhere and not well explored 
• an ‘event’ (no spoilers) happens about 20% in that is the focus of the rest of the plot. this was not the direction I expected the book to go in and I enjoyed it much less
• it was too much? it’s so sad and lowkey traumatising from then onwards!!

I’m here for the dark academia vibes, but the plot was a little too harrowing once the setting is taken away. 

⚠️⚠️⚠️
please check the trigger warnings - it’s pretty intense

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for providing me an audiobook ARC

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Mental illness, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Suicide, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical trauma, Incest, Eating disorder, Death, and Confinement

rhensie's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

At the heart of it, this book is deeply, heart-wrenchingly sad. I would strongly recommend looking at TWs before reading, notably

graphic self-harm, sexual assault, rape, rape by a parent, bodily injury, suicide

. I honestly wasn't quite ready for it at times, and I think this is a book where a list of TWs should have been clearly printed at the beginning. I would recommend this book, but only to an older YA reader, and only if they are able to read it safely in the context of these triggers.

This is a tale that in many ways is disturbingly relatable. The central character - Marta - seems undeniably autistic coded to me, and her dream to get into this privileged school setting is unsettlingly familiar. The general pain of being excluded in this setting, the horrific bullying and the pressure cooker environment, is all too real. And Marta's pain is just particularly acute and extreme, to the point that it's hard to put it into words. 

Marta, Rose and Sylvia earn this book its 4 stars easily; its last star is lost by Sami, Lloyd, and Max, none of whom I really connected with. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Suicide

bookdreamer2024's review

emotional sad slow-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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Vomit, Self harm, and Sexual assault