Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Hurricane Girl by Marcy Dermansky

11 reviews

melitiamelitia's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Death of parent

sam8834's review

dark funny fast-paced

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

4.0

Is Dark RomCom a thing? Because Hurricane Girl is funny in a horrifying way?! I enjoyed this, as a novel that entertains and is sharp, but doesn't take itself too seriously. I appreciate that the protagonist, Allison, is more in love with swimming pools than with men and is willing to shape her whole life around the prospect of having access to a pool everyday. She experiences life-upending tragedies back-to-back and the story revolves around her resilience in the face of that, and it's interesting to see her retain these small comforts, like being able to swim everyday.

I will say that the whole book hinges on an attack very early on that I kind of had to suspend disbelief for. It is plenty scary and horrific, but given the realistic stats and what we know about male violence, Allison likely wouldn't have gotten through the incident without the occurrence of even further trauma. A sobering truth that I suspect was left out of the book for the purpose of keeping its lighter, darkly comic edge, which is understandable and makes for a quick, funny read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

ana_distracted's review

I liked the writing style.  But so far there have been 3 men and they've all been assholes.  The current one just knocked her unconscious because she didn't want to stay and have sex with him, having known him for only a day. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Misogyny

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.25

(adjusted from 4 to 4.25)
the writing style was alright, like why don't characters use contractions in dialogue. that's so weird. but i loved the main character. she just wanted to swim and that's it. me too girlie. i wish there was more at the end though, like a confirmation that

she wasn't pregnant

.
also Fleabag reference. we stay winning

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, and Medical content

Minor: Sexual violence, Alcohol, Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, and Infidelity

rachaelwho's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Another "comedy" I didn't find remotely funny, I can't seem to get away from it-- maybe it's me. I found this one very smart, clever even, but not funny. It was moving, but it felt pretty awful. The voice actress did an excellent job of performing Allison's confusion and sensory overwhelm, it felt visceral. I have a lot of sensitivity to sound, so I really felt those passages. I felt so much tension and anxiety at so many moments, particularly when she held the baby. Processing her experience, deciding how she felt about what various people did to her and what it might mean for those relationships, second-guessing her decisions and the placement of her trust or consent... It was a lot.
I initially was going to give this book 4-point-something, but realized that while it wasn't my personal favorite ever, there's really nothing I would change, so it gets all five. Very worthwhile read, but to me, very challenging and emotional. I'm still thinking about it and I might read this one again someday, I think.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Blood, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Vomit, Gore, Confinement, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Toxic friendship and Death of parent

librosdenopal's review

dark emotional funny tense fast-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

3.5

a funny, poignant and subtle comment on the shock that comes with grief and mourning a loved one. i wasn't expecting it to be so sad but also really, terribly funny. "i have my health..." 

it does feel like the book just started in terms of growth as the ending got closer. i was hoping for a stronger finish.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Confinement, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

danalovestoread's review

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Well written, but I swear this book made me feel like I was the one with a concussion! I felt like I was dazed and had a headache, just as the character did. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Medical content, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts

bi_n_large's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse

suzyreadsbooks's review

dark funny tense fast-paced

3.0

gifted to me by knopf!
a good beach read. it really hits the ground running. weird, choppy, propulsive despite the lulls in plot. really funny moments, really tender moments about grief and family, lots of ridiculousness. you can easily breeze through it all, even the parts veering on horror, because Allison’s narration jumps all over the place due to her very recent brain injury. 

but i am tired of authors deciding to prove a character’s unlikeability by having them make random microaggressions! and let's stop using mental illness as the antagonist’s motivations!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Body horror, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Medical content, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Drug use and Racism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

onmalsshelf's review

reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

Chaotic, unique, and unexpectedly good. Simplistic writing done well in this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse