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lunababybat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I think Jack did a good job of trying to understand what would lead relatively normal people to participate in this type of extreme behavior against another human being. The slow dehumanization of someone led by an authority figure, how someone can become a proverbial punchingbag that's a stand in for all of life's failures. It also delves into how misogyny helps in this dehumanizing, letting Meg be seen as a "whore" and nothing but a piece of meat, even though the real issues is everyone else's inappropriate feelings towards her. Ruth is the ultimate villian and honestly got off too easy in the end. She hated herself and sought to find someone to project that hate onto, so she didn't have to face what a true monster she really was inside.
There are some issues with the writing, and some of the language is definitely outdated, even for a book written in the 80s and set in the 50s. Overall, this is a chance for readers interested in true crime to dip their toes in the water before taking the plunge into the real cases. Because, at least in this instance, there is at least one person who does feel bad about what they did.
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Excrement, Death of parent, and Alcohol
alexlouise97'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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Fatphobia, Car accident, and Death of parent
reddarko's review
- 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? N/A
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, and Blood
Moderate: Ableism
Ableism in the form of the kids calling each other the r sluralicenonsense's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
enchantressreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, and Homophobia
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
multiple uses of the R-word, slut shamingten_telegrams's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Car accident
Minor: Infidelity and Excrement
roncanread's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment
caidyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It begins with a man, David, looking back on his life and on one particular summer that changed his whole life. I didn't like the way it was done; I felt that the beginning portion was unneeded and that the author should have just jumped head first into the story. Yes, it was nice to be able to draw parallels from the present to make the past, where the story lies, more deep.
David is one of those easy manipulated people, really just goes along with the crowd. And he remains that way, with the help of Ruth, for most of the story. Ruth is the true antagonist, the one driving David's conflict of either telling about what is happening to this poor girl, Meg, or forget about it and just watch. He's not active in any of the torture but I do think that he would have been if he hadn't had created a bond with Meg in the beginning.
One thing I loved about this book was how real it felt. The torture displayed in this book has happened before and will happen again. Fear can force people down and lift people up, as seen with the boys and Ruth, the overwhelming evil of the story. She seems normal, drawing the boys in and showing that she can be their friend. Then she flips the tables, still showing how friendly she can be with them but warping it with the treatment she shows to be okay towards one person.
Ruth really reminded me of Hitler. I'm reading Elie Wiesel's Night in school currently so I guess I'm drawing from that. But going on. Hitler showed that it was alright to treat the Jews the way that he did and then, when his little servants had seen that it was okay and taken notes on what to do, he turned them loose, and they committed the true atrocities while he just sat back and let it happen.
The ending was great. With David killing Ruth, the unwilling accomplice turning against the leader, it marked a huge change for his character that had been starting since he tried to help Meg escape. And the part I liked the most of the ending was with Woofer and how he had been impacted, drawing in David's life experiences with what we were given of that summer and with his wives, and how someone else took what happened and what he had seen made the book really remarkable and well rounded.
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail