fe_aye's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.5
There’s a sense of complete bleakness here, no escape just a constant headfirst plunge into the depravity and darkness of the world. Even the lightheaded scenes are tainted with this horrible oppressive feeling, and Chris and Cathy’s ‘relationship’ only makes things worse. I am also not a fan of how Andrews chose to portray any of the relationships in this book beyond the bond the siblings share as siblings. Their family bond was precious to see and kept me going through the slog of selfish decision after selfish decision that the adults around them kept making.
Spoiler
I am extremely disturbed by how casually incest is portrayed in this, the only person who ever speaks out against the incest is an utter bigot and only revealed to have some semblance of a conscience right at the very end of this book. The mother is deified for her ‘brave relationship despite all odds’ with her uncle, which is never corrected by any of the children. Chris and Cathy also struggle with this until it escalated to him raping her, and yes he does rape her she is fighting him off, I don’t care what the conversation afterwards says. In that moment she was telling him no. And she blames herself for it too. I think that that whole plot thread really could have been left in the first draft and didn’t need to be here at all.All in all wasn’t an fan and don’t recommend this to people unless they know what they’re getting into.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Confinement, Death, Abandonment, Animal death, Child abuse, Grief, Incest, and Child death
Moderate: Blood, Sexual content, Violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail
hue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Violence, Sexism, Abandonment, Animal death, Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Incest, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Religious bigotry, Medical content, and Gaslighting
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Having said that, the writing itself isn't that great. The story itself had me hooked from page one though.
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Car accident, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Confinement, Incest, and Animal cruelty
maggiemaryamos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Hate crime, Grief, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Death
hapikohw's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Gaslighting, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Incest, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Child death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Confinement, Murder, and Rape
eyrechrysalis's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Death, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Animal death
Moderate: Gaslighting and Violence
ekmoore11's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Blood, Sexual violence, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Torture, Sexual assault, Incest, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment
bookrecsanddnfs's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.0
After re-reading the first book as an adult, I am very grateful that my library only had the first book on Libby.
Marked safe. 2 stars for nostalgia.
Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Child death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Rape, Torture, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
bitchesgottaread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Child death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Rape, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Grief
Minor: Animal death
favvn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Because VC Andrews is the queen of mixing intergenerational familial trauma and creating messed up families in general with a side of Southern Gothic horror, and seeing the 1980s movie for the first time in eons made me realize that I never read the book. Big fun to hit parts the movie cut.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Incest, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Child abuse, and Child death
Moderate: Rape, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts