Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

97 reviews

amberinbookland's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexism, Sexual assault, Murder, Grief, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Homophobia

anna_giub's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Grief, Blood, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Kidnapping

Minor: Death of parent, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse

casandra_lovealwaysbooks's review

hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

This is a book I’ll be thinking about for a while. It said a lot of what I’ve thought on this topic for a long time and I’m grateful it was written and that it was written in this way. 
To never use the defendant’s name was the best choice. To give names and voices to the women that have consistently been ignored in all of this, an even better one. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore

Minor: Eating disorder

realityczar's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Rape

Minor: Death of parent, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Incest, and Adult/minor relationship

alexflagg's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Dementia, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Murder, Sexism, and Homophobia

Minor: Body shaming, Incest, Eating disorder, and Forced institutionalization

florabutler's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Rape, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Misogyny

Moderate: Homophobia

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

Stunning and startling in equal turn. I greatly admire how Knoll weaves the theme of sisterhood throughout, not in an icky "girl boss"/white feminism way but, rather, in a profound call to reconsider—to remember—the shared responsibility we hold to do better for each other. A true sucker punch of a novel, one that I'd think would pair well with A Tiny Upward Shove.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Rape, Child death, Cursing, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Pregnancy and Eating disorder

bnscrivner's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Misogyny and Emotional abuse

bookishevy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

January 15th, 1978, president of the top sorority at Florida State University Pamela Schumacher is startled awake at 3am by a sound she decides to investigate. She discovers four of her sisters badly injured, two would succumb to their injuries, inficted by a serial killer who escaped prison in Aspen, Colorado. Pamela soon meets Tina Cannon, a young woman whose friend Ruth Wachowsky went missing four years prior. Tina believes the man responsible for the sorority murders is the same one who took her friend.

The story is told from the perspectives of Pamela and Ruth. Pamela's is from the present when she receives a letter summoning her return to Florida and through flashbacks. Ruth's is from winter 1974 until her disappearance that summer and provides insight into how unhappy she was before meeting Tina.

Inspired by true events, the novel's name comes from the judge, who called Ted Bundy a "bright young man," which is ridiculous because the only thing Bundy had going for him was that he was a white male. Pamela often points out that The Defendent's (how Knoll refers to Bundy here to keep the focus on his victims and their families) good looks and intelligence are exaggerated. 

He was able to carry out this final killing spree due to the ineptitude of law endorsement in Colorado. It made officers look less incompetent to paint him as this slippery genius, and the press was just as complicit in his glamorization. 

It's up to Pamela and Tina to do what the men in charge of the investigation failed to do.

Ruth put her own happiness aside to appease her mother. The Defendent targeted young women because they are conditioned to please others. While reading Ruth's heartbreaking account, I was reminded of the killer's monologue in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Fincher's version) when he tells Mikael "It's hard to believe that the fear of offending can be stronger than the fear of pain. But you know what? It is. And they always come willingly."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Murder, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Sexism, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Toxic relationship

tunatins's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Murder