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jodieflemingg's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Rape
mbredahl3's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Child death, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Stalking, Gaslighting, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, and Alcoholism
ashwee0955'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Car accident, Pregnancy, Murder, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Child death, Animal death, Alcoholism, Rape, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
daphelba's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
When i'm not deeply moved by something with these themes, I have to wonder if it's me...just reading too much of the same kinda stuff and becoming desensitized, but when I reflect on this particular rendition I realize it was missing psychological depth. There is a part in the book that is horribly sad (iykyk), and obviously, in that moment it can be hard for a person to really process and explain exactly what they're feeling, but I would have expected to see deeper psychological processing during the healing phase, and there just wasn't. There could be a couple of reasons for this:
- If the author chooses to delve into that type of processing, to create psychological depth to their character, they run the risk of having half their audience say "that's not how someone would act in this situation...", which is always a narrow-minded viewpoint, but common nonetheless.
- That may not be the author's area of strength in writing and they'd rather not try to go there.
- Or, that just wasn't the genre of the book. But if not, I think it's very interesting to have most of the book told through the therapy setting. Sure, some of therapy is the reliving and telling of experiences, but you'd expect that more often the narrator would break down, be unable to continue the session...
While I really enjoyed this book, appreciating the subject and much of the content, and while the book truly gutted me for a moment in the middle -- I can't help but feel stories like this which seem to exist for the thriller/mystery aspect more than the psychological growth aspect, are a bit exploitative. Yes, of characters who do not exist, but also of real humans, sometimes readers, who are looking to process grief or trauma or find their own growth in media with themes that they can relate to in some way. I dock the book a point for this.
There were a couple of moments that were notable for me in showing, psychologically, how life experiences had impacted the main character and the secondary character and I'll be thinking about these for a while:
Additionally, Annie has sex with a character once she is back to "normal" life, and she notes that she has to be in control, that she doesn't want him to look at her, that she doesn't want him to touch her or really be involved, but instead to just allow her to use him. One wonders if this is simply because she's having a hard time feeling safe and connecting with someone sexually, OR, if there is now something twisted and deeper in there... if now, sex has to have this bent to it, that of the two people partaking, one should have all the power. Annie seems to acknowledge openly that this is how she needs to engage in sex for the time-being, but doesn't express the function of this behavior for her...is it arousing, or just functional?
Graphic: Rape and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
chuckyinspace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Child death, Child abuse, Confinement, and Rape
julis_libros's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Rape, Murder, Sexual assault, and Death
Minor: Death of parent and Child death
annie_1330's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Child death, and Rape
cam012's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Rape and Child death
stacym's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping
samantha914'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Rape, Confinement, and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Grief, Emotional abuse, Child death, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Animal death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Stalking