Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Ophelia Girls by Jane Healey

4 reviews

jj_99's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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bek_p87's review against another edition

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

3.0

I couldn't quite pin down why exactly this book was set in 1973/1997, and the inexplicability and lack of necessity of that affected my enjoyment of the story. However, if that were my only qualm, I'd probably have been able to push it aside - unfortunately, it was not. There were so many loose endings that weren't fleshed out, new plot points being added in place of old ones being explained, not to mention (although I guess I'm about to) some truly wild and disastrous decisions by mother and daughter alike. I really wanted to like this, but it was only okay. 
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zoe_werdy's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I loved the writing in this book, the haunted images of pretty girls floating in the river, the complexity of the characters, the way if the past is left unresolved it ends up repeating itself. I found the relationship hard to stomach, but I guess that's the point. It leaves you to make your own decision about who the villains are. 
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rcsreads's review against another edition

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

1.5

A large part of this is just paedophile porn. There's no need for the inappropriate relationship to be gone into with so much detail. 
The mother's side of the story would have been enough although it has some unpleasant, outdated and homophobic opinions expressed. The daughters story is actively disgusting and romanticised paedophilia. 
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