Reviews

Captive Girl by Jennifer Pelland

lezreadalot's review

3.0

This left me creeped out and unsettled and unhappy, but that was probably the goal. I'm not usually into dark stuff, but this was good.

2.5

nedjem's review

4.0

I really liked the book. It's dark and tragic but at the same time passionate. It's about a darker kind of love - when love doesn't work "as it should". It is about society and it's expectations, about compromises and loneliness...

It would have gotten five stars, were it not for one thing - as a short story, it did not work as a complete story. When it came to the end, I felt like I had just read the prelude to a full length novel. It left me wishing for a continuation.

So, Jennifer Pelland, if you by any chance is reading this, please continue this short story to a full length novel!

youfelinedevil's review

4.0

I liked this a lot, but... idk I guess using the word “monster” to describe the main character in the summary is pretty not ok. The prose is straight forward, clear eyed, the characters are compelling, and the story is beautiful and disturbing. But stories don’t exist in a vacuum. The narrative itself doesn’t necessarily feel fetishistic or exploitive*, but I wonder what someone who is actually disabled would find it.

*one character is definitely a creep but it doesn’t really seem to be condoned by the narrative or other characters. But, then again, that’s just my interpretation. The ending disturbed me, and I hope that was the point. I hope we weren’t meant to find it romantic or something.