squrrlgrrl'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Self harm, Animal death, Body horror, Alcoholism, Blood, Gore, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Colonisation, Suicide attempt, and Addiction
Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
sarahmcg'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was highly entertained - the plot and the story were very interesting. Our FMC/narrator Jade was… so wild, an unreliable narrator for the books. I wasn’t sure if anything she was saying was real or a figment of her wild imagination/bloody daydreams.
I think finding out why Jade is the way she is gave me a lot of empathy for her and helped me to understand why she lives breathes and only talks about slashers. I also loved Hardy, Mr. Holmes, and Letha as side characters! What ever happened to Shooting Glasses though? I thought he might end up playing more of a role in the ending but he really didn’t.
Besides the gore (which was extensive and descriptive), I ended up feeling like the motives behind the violence got lost and there was just a lot of chaos going on so by the end I wasn’t even sure who killed who 🙈 also, the chapters were wayyyy too long for me!
Rep: FMC is Native American Indian, side FMC black. Most other characters are white besides the FMCs family’s.
⚠️ CW/TW: suicide attempt, violence, murder, blood/gore, injury detail, animal death, vomiting, alcoholism, misogyny, racism, reference to underage drinking, reference to pedophilia/rape/child abuse (in past), fire
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Gore, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Vomit, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Racism, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Minor: Cultural appropriation and Colonisation
judassilver's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual harassment, Violence, Self harm, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Classism, Sexual assault, and Vomit
Moderate: Animal death, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Body horror, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Colonisation, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, and Racism
shysheepys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'm personally not a slasher fan, but I love horror and wrote a few college papers on slasher tropes and the theories behind slashers and why slashers are popular. I loved being able to read this without having to think to hard about the things Jade was talking about, because I already knew them too, and it all made sense. For someone that hadn't done research on slashers, though? I can't imagine them being able to read this easily.
But anyway, I love Jade Daniels. I love this book. I can't wait to read the next.
Graphic: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicide, Body horror, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Incest, Murder, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Self harm
Moderate: Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racism, and Death of parent
Minor: Abortion, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, and Colonisation
amandadevoursbooks'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Jade's narration is chaotic, and I found it difficult to track at times. She's obsessed with horror films and slashers and she is convinced that there is a slasher cycles starting in her hometown. While she does her best to communicate the danger the adults around her don't believe her and neither do the other teenagers.
This book started slow, and like a Gothic it built up speed until it was barreling down the tracks towards the end. Unlike a Gothic, the setting itself wasn't oppressive.
It also had an interesting narrative structure. The chapters were broken up between jade narrating present day and papers that Jade had turned into her history teacher. This works to break up the tension and also to reinforce Jade's knowledge and perception of this being a slasher cycle.
If you're a person that likes horror films and knows a lot about them this book might resonate a little bit more. I feel like as a person who only is tangentially aware of horror films and who primarily reads horror instead of watching it I think some of the illusions and the meanings were lost on me.
Like all good horror it has a lot to say about the state of the world. It tackles classism, racism, and sexism, all while telling and entertaining slasher story.
I'm looking forward to the second book.
Graphic: Racism, Gore, Suicide attempt, Violence, Colonisation, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
apestforwrens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Gore, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Grief, Animal death, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Medical content, Gaslighting, Racism, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Classism, Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Stalking
Minor: Rape, Cultural appropriation, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts
theoldestbennetsister's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
Graphic: Pedophilia, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Child death, Classism, and Rape
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Racism, Colonisation, and Vomit
blacksphinx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Suicide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Self harm
Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Vomit, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Pedophilia
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Racism
lee_brahms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Violence, Suicide attempt, Gore, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Incest, Animal death, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Blood, Murder, and Self harm
Minor: Confinement, Vomit, Colonisation, and Fire/Fire injury
rhyanashah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
From the absolutely infuriating main character, incredibly slow moving plot, messy finale, and a bordering obscene amount of referencial head-nodding that makes Ernest Cline's Oasis/Wade Watts series look timid.
I struggled with every aspect of this book, and it's genuinely a shock considering how this book has almost everything i love.
Horror, non-white protagonists who must personally grow in spite of trauma, small town secrets, potential Queer storyline.
Instead i have.... whatever thiw was. An insufferable lead, about 200 unnecessary pages and a lot of loose threads that were "Yada-Yada"'d through at the end. How can i be bored when there's MURDER happening? And yet. The "sisterly" relationship between our main and another character just came across like "historians will say they were friends" energy.
Also TW/Spoiler warning
Spoiler
did not enjoy whole scenes of our protagonist being effectively deadnamed and outed as a child victim whilst 4 other characters try and force them to confront/confess allegations against their parent.I must also add that i never EVER feel comfortable about men writing from the perspective of young women/female children who have been S/A'd or R****d.
Whilst not all of the topics i've put in the content warning are Graphic, they are all frequent and i do emplore anyone considering reading this book to consider if they will be affected by these topics, and to avoid if that is the case.
In a summary, i think the book is about 50% too long and i was disappointed by about 150 pages in, but continued on. The ending was VERY disappointing. I only said "medium paced" because 300 pages are slow and 150 aren't but there is no "inconsistently paced" option.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Murder, Racism, Deadnaming, Blood, Colonisation, Self harm, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Child death, Rape, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Abortion
As said in my full review: Whilst not all of the topics i've put in the content warning are Graphic, they are all frequent and i do emplore anyone considering reading this book to consider if they will be affected by these topics, and to avoid if that is the case.