History Literature / SharpObjects

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Both Adora and Amma are masters of this. Adora is beloved in Wind Gap even though her behaviour is very "off", while she's verbally and psychologically abusive to Camille at home. Amma plays at being sweet and docile at home, but is outrageously promiscuous and foul-mouthed outside the house.

* AttractivenessDiscrimination: In Wind Gap pretty women like Adora can get away with horrible behavior with no repercussions while less attractive women are consistently mentioned to be treated poorly. This seems to start at a young age as in Amma's group of cronies Camille notices that Jodes, the least beautiful girl, is at the bottom of the pecking order and is often bullied by her "friends". Interestingly, this is never mentioned to be the case for ''men'' in the town.

* ToxicFriendInfluence: Amma to her clique, arguably. She gets them to collaborate in acts of bullying [[and in murdering Ann and Natalie]].

* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Amma drinks, takes drugs and has sex, and that's just for starters. It's also alleged that she pimps out other to older boys, she seems to enjoy watching animals in pain, and she [[spoiler:murders three girls who were drawing the attention of her mother (which Amma sees as unfair, considering what she allows Adora to [[MunchausenSyndrome do to her]]) removing their teeth as souvenirs to put in her doll's house.]] She's ''thirteen''.

[[quoteright:257:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pdf_epub_sharp_objects_download.jpg]][[caption-width-right:257:''This family isn't nuclear. Its toxic.'']]

** EvilMatriarch Adora is TheMunchausen and enjoys making all her daughters sick and being viewed as the perfect mother even if it meant [[spoiler:killing her youngest, Marion.]]

* PlasticBitch: PlayedWith. Jackie is Adora's best childhood friend and Camille's surrogate mom. Camille mentions that she has obviously just had a face lift, which is still swollen and frightening to look at. Although she shows Camille more love than Adora ever did or does, Jackie is also shown getting into vicious arguments with her "friends" and clearly lived in denial that [[spoiler:Adora murdered Marion]].

* TheSociopath: [[spoiler:Neither Amma nor her gang of girls sans Jodes has any remorse whatsoever for their crimes, going so far as to [[EvilIsPetty pilfer gifts left for the dead girls]].]]

* ToxicFriendInfluence: Amma to her clique, arguably.
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Amma drinks, takes drugs and has sex, and that's just for starters. It's also alleged that she pimps her friends out to older boys, she seems to enjoy watching animals in pain, and she [[spoiler:murders three girls who were drawing the attention of her mother (which Amma sees as unfair, considering what she allows Adora to [[MunchausenSyndrome do to her]]) removing their teeth as souvenirs to put in her doll's house.]] She's ''thirteen''.

* VillainousLineage: After [[spoiler:Adora is arrested and Camille takes custody of her sister]], she worries that she has it in her to do the same things her mother did. Played straight between [[spoiler:Adora and Amma]]
* WastedBeauty: Camille is considered extremely beautiful, and no-one can understand why she hasn't married or had children. It's because she is covered in words that she cut into herself as part of ritualistic self-harm since she was a young teenager, which everyone considers repulsive when they see it. (The one exception is John, with whom Camille wouldn't have any sort of sexual or long-lasting relationship because he is grieving deeply and only eighteen to her over-thirty.)
* {{Yandere}}: [[spoiler:Amma murdered Ann and Natalie because of extreme jealousy over Adora's attention to them, and later murdered Lily because she thought Camille liked her better.]]

* AttentionWhore: Camille notes this about her sister, stating that Amma "didn't want anyone to get more attention than herself". [[spoiler: It's also taken UpToEleven near the end, in which it's implied that the reason Amma murders Lily is a fear that Camille might like her better.]]

* WastedBeauty: Camille is considered extremely beautiful, and no-one can understand why she hasn't married or had children. It's because she is covered in words that she cut into herself as part of ritualistic self-harm since she was a young teenager, which everyone considers repulsive when they see it. (The one exception is John, with whom Camille wouldn't have any sort of sexual or long-lasting relationship because he is grieving deeply and only seventeen.)

* AttractivenessDiscrimination: In Wind Gap pretty women like Adora can get away with horrible behavior with no repercussions while less attractive women are consistently mentioned to be treated poorly. This seems to start at a young age as in Amma's group of cronies Camille notices that Jodes, the least beautiful girl, is at the bottom of the pecking order and is often bullied by her "friends".

[[quoteright:257:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pdf_epub_sharp_objects_download.jpg]][[caption-width-right:257:some caption text]]

[[quoteright:257:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pdf_epub_[[caption-width-right:257:some caption text]]

* InTheBlood: After [[spoiler:Adora is arrested and Camille takes custody of her sister]], she worries that she has it in her to do the same things her mother did. Played straight between [[spoiler:Adora and Amma]]

* Egomaniac Hunter: Camille notes that the boys she grew up with would hunt in the woods for sport. They enjoyed the thrill of hunting and weren't particularly sophisticated about it. In particular she describes them as cocky and aggressive.

* Egomaniac Hunter: Camille notes that the boys she grew up with fit this trope.

** Evil Matriarch Adora is The Münchausen and enjoys making all her daughters sick and being viewed as the perfect mother even if it meant [[spoiler:killing her youngest, Marion.]]

* MenAreBetterThanWomen: Camille is a bit of a FemaleMisogynist so some of it might be a case of UnreliableNarrator, but [[spoiler:all the villains are female. There's Adora, a monster with Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy who poisoned and tortured all three of her daughters, killing one; Amma is a narcissistic sociopath who killed three girls because she was competing for their love; Amma's girl posse was totally willing to go along with the murder, except Jodes, who is portrayed as a pathetic walkover who is on the brink of being murdered herself. And the prepubescent girls Amma and her friends murdered? They were aggressive "bad girls" themselves, with Ann ''maiming someone with a pair of scissors''.]] The men include [[spoiler:John Keene, who- is suspected of being a pedophile but is actually a NiceGuy]], Alan, who is much more sympathetic here than in the TV series where it's left highly ambiguous if he knew Adora was a poisonous murderer, whereas in the series, he is shown [[spoiler:abetting her, if only by omission]], and Richard, who may turn out to be weak and [[spoiler:is manipulating Camille]], but he's also a good cop who [[spoiler:knows Adora is bad news.]]

!!Tropes:

* WhamLine: The final line of the TV show adaptation:
-->[[spoiler:Amma:]] [[spoiler: Don't tell Mama.]]