Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

23 reviews

mprinton's review

4.5

I really loved Ace of Spades, so I was so excited to pick this one up, and it did not disappoint. Àbíké-Íyímídé is so, so good at creating this kind of suspenseful story and plot with intricate characters and, always, an incredible plot twist.

I do think that I'm getting a bit tired (after only two books) of the reveal that everyone is a bad guy, and there's a secret society of evil people at work behind the scenes. I think that obviously these groups are stand-ins and metaphors for the very real system of racism (in the case of Ace of Spades) and patriarchy/misogyny (in the case of Where Sleeping Girls Lie), but it makes for a less interesting story if the author chooses to repeat the same structure with each followup novel.

That said, I will continue to read Àbíké-Íyímídé's books; she is an incredible writer, and her stories are so poignant, topical, and necessary. She tackles difficult subjects with each of her books, and she does so with care and mastery. An instant-read author for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Addiction and Drug use

Minor: Animal death and Dementia

shugentobler's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Another win by Faridah in my opinion! When opening, this book was immediately VIBES. Dark academia, autumn, mean girls. I loved it! 
And who was my favorite? Definitely Persephone. Giving Prudence from CAOS, girl slayed me when she said for Halloween she wouldn't be

going to a party, but watching all the Halloweentown movies

girl after my own heart! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Islamophobia and Racism

jasminedaria's review against another edition

challenging 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Death, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Rape

Minor: Animal death

purplepaste's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, and Suicide

kaylamoran's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I didn't find this nearly as anxiety inducing or scary as Ace of Spades, but I don't think it was meant to be.  Overall I enjoyed this, although at times it was very hard to listen to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Sexual assault, Rape, Suicide, Death, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

naisdayz's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I'm going to write a proper review on this later, but I just finished it and need to get some of my thoughts down.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie is, no doubt, a very important story. Men are assholes.
The execution fell a little flat for me, though. First and foremost, it's too long. Period. This could have easily been 150-200 pages shorter without losing anything significant. I shouldn't have to die from boredom while reading hundreds of pages without anything majorly relevant.

There were also many repetitions and overexplanations written down, which reminded me a lot of fanfictions I used to read (alias books that haven't been edited properly).
Some examples:
"The local town was close enough to the school that it didn't take them long to get there."
"It was weird that Sade didn't recognize her at first, given that she saw her on a regular basis. She realized that not only was this the first time she had seen Persephone on a weekend, but also the first time she had seen her out of uniform, which probably explained how long it took to figure out it was her in the first place."

Despite this, it also underexplains actual important stuff. I wish things would have been discovered rather than showed to us. Sade could have also used a few more brain cells, honestly -

e.g. how come she didn't try the uv lamps earlier?

 

Once it does actually get going, it gets really intense and twisty fast, which I enjoyed. The author did a good job describing the grief and trauma Sade is going through.

There were also some really beautiful quotes in here (I'll quote some later).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Lesbophobia

ghostlyprince's review

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child death, Death, Bullying, Gaslighting, Grief, and Rape

Moderate: Addiction, Sexism, Stalking, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Confinement, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Classism, Drug use, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Body shaming, Lesbophobia, Animal death, and Physical abuse

There's a scene where a pet hamster needs to go the hospital but it ends up fine

lausiusplau's review

dark hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Addiction, Bullying, Suicide, Death, Dementia, Gaslighting, Child death, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

shadeyc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional relaxing sad tense slow-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? Yes

3.75

3.75 
Well. That was intense. Oooooh did that give me the feels, and unsurprisingly made me mad at the patriachy all over again. 
I loved the beginning, that first chapter really got me, I'm always sucked in by Àbíké-Íyímídé's writing. But, and it's kind of a half hearted but, I did feel like this book went on a bit long. 
I was right there with Sade for most of it, and then I started getting tired. And then I got frsutrated, and then mad, and then tired again. 
I get the slow burn suspense is what drives this book, but I think the middle got a little bogged down, and we would still get hit by all th revelations and impact even if this was a little shorter. 
PS. Persephone for Prime Minister! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Bullying, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

I've put certain types of assault down as graphic because the impact of them feels that way. However, while the book deals with assault it is not explictly graphic, the discussion of or act is generally talked of, not detailed.

behindherpages's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, and Homophobia

Minor: Addiction