Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

12 reviews

danimacuk's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, Excrement, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Incest, Mental illness, Vomit, and Car accident

lunababybat's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• 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

This is by far one of the most disturbing fiction books I've ever read. Even though I don't believe it's classified as extreme horror or splatterpunk, it should be. But I understand why it maybe doesn't have those labels; because this story is based on real events, events even worse than what happened to Meg in this novel. The real case is the longterm torture and eventual murder of Sylvia Likens. What the real girl, Sylvia, experienced pales in comparison to even what Meg endured. And there was no David for Slyvia. No one had a change of heart or tried to help her in the end, aside from Slyvia's disabled sister.
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.

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Content Warnings

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

bookdeviant86's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

simplyammee's review against another edition

0.25

I don't know why they author felt it necessary to give gross, vivid sexual detail about a fucking child but this is literally just his child porn fantasy novel. Disgusting. 

Someone reviewed this book saying that it was short sentences.... I think they read a completely different book because I just had 3 sentences about a child's nipples while they're fucking torturing her. It's not brief, it's glorified. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Sexual harassment

charrock's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

alexlouise97's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

killmoore_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

I was very familiar with the Sylvia Likens case going in to the girl next door, and honestly, I was grateful that Ketchum took it upon himself to narrate the novel in a way that left the most gruesome details to the imagination - what happened to Sylvia was truly terrible, and to describe in detail what happened through a work of fiction would, in a way, be disrespectful.

However, despite being well written and truly gut wrenching, I feel that Ketchum missed the mark on painting a true monster in Ruth. I understand that this is written through the eyes of a child, but it really just skims the surface on what motivates a person to commit these atrocities, let alone the impact a trusted adults actions have on the children in their care. 

Girl Next Door is awful. It is a gruesome depiction of child abuse, grief and depravity, written in a way that is still palatable for the general public. Check your trigger warnings and prepare to have your heart broken. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

laniemax's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

gabforshort's review

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture

Moderate: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Fatphobia, Excrement, and Death of parent

katyannreads's review

dark tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

This book actually ruined my day. Read it in one sitting. Completely captivating story, devastating. 5 stars because I was so engrossed in the story.