leari's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book includes one novella as well as two short stories.
The novella follows a woman being kidnapped right in front of a clinic where she had an appointment with a doctor. The woman is pregnant. The two kidnappers, a couple, bring her to their home and do all kinds of disgusting and humiliating things to our main character. The story is about family, pregnancy, abortion, relationships, power and much more. I liked the horror elements in it and I was rooting for the protagonist. The shocking and brutal things that were done to her were rarely described in detail, both the act itself as well as the feelings and thoughts of the characters involved in it. Whether that is a good thing or not, depends on your taste. I usually like descriptive books, whether we are talking about the horror genre or outside of it. However, the horrific scenes somehow still worked perfectly in this book. It was effective and did not necessarily need a bunch of details to really show the cruel nature of the man who kidnapped the protagonist. The writing style in general was very good compared to a lot of other extreme horror books, where the language gets quite colloquial at times. The book is written from different perspectives, mainly the kidnappers' and the protagonist's point of views. We learn a lot about their daily life, their past, their relationships, their struggles, dreams and ambitions. There is also a cat in the story, who brought some hope and joy into the story.
What bothered me were the bits and pieces about this made-up organisation. It felt like reading a spy novel and did not really enahnce the story in any way in my opinion. I also think that some scenes did not feel very realistic in terms of how the characters were behaving. I felt like it was not the smartest decision to The ending was alright. It did feel more like a thriller at this point instead of a horror novel, but not every book needs to have a bad or twisted ending. I would rate the novella 4 stars.
The short stories are not connected to the main story. The first one follows a girl calling the police because her mom had an accident in the bathroom. The second story is about a woman, her cat and her deceased partner who is haunting the place as a ghost. Again, both stories felt more like a thriller or mystery to me and not like horror. They were also perhaps too short to make a long-lasting impression on me. Or maybe the twists just simply were not interesting enough. I am not sure. I would give them 2 stars each.
The novella follows a woman being kidnapped right in front of a clinic where she had an appointment with a doctor. The woman is pregnant. The two kidnappers, a couple, bring her to their home and do all kinds of disgusting and humiliating things to our main character. The story is about family, pregnancy, abortion, relationships, power and much more. I liked the horror elements in it and I was rooting for the protagonist. The shocking and brutal things that were done to her were rarely described in detail, both the act itself as well as the feelings and thoughts of the characters involved in it. Whether that is a good thing or not, depends on your taste. I usually like descriptive books, whether we are talking about the horror genre or outside of it. However, the horrific scenes somehow still worked perfectly in this book. It was effective and did not necessarily need a bunch of details to really show the cruel nature of the man who kidnapped the protagonist. The writing style in general was very good compared to a lot of other extreme horror books, where the language gets quite colloquial at times. The book is written from different perspectives, mainly the kidnappers' and the protagonist's point of views. We learn a lot about their daily life, their past, their relationships, their struggles, dreams and ambitions. There is also a cat in the story, who brought some hope and joy into the story.
What bothered me were the bits and pieces about this made-up organisation. It felt like reading a spy novel and did not really enahnce the story in any way in my opinion. I also think that some scenes did not feel very realistic in terms of how the characters were behaving. I felt like it was not the smartest decision to
Spoiler
let the kidnapee just walk freely around the house and giving her access to almost every room and everything that was in it. The protagonist's first attempt at escaping the house was not the best either. How about using the phone? Grabbing a weapon? She could have easily done that. No? Oh, okay, nevermind. Just walk outside then and get caught. And nobody noticed this other guy being dead? Hard to believe.The short stories are not connected to the main story. The first one follows a girl calling the police because her mom had an accident in the bathroom. The second story is about a woman, her cat and her deceased partner who is haunting the place as a ghost. Again, both stories felt more like a thriller or mystery to me and not like horror. They were also perhaps too short to make a long-lasting impression on me. Or maybe the twists just simply were not interesting enough. I am not sure. I would give them 2 stars each.
gimpology69's review
challenging
dark
sad
medium-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? No
3.25
verkisto's review
2.0
Sara Foster. She's an ex-wife, mother to a son who died at six years old several years ago, lover to a married man, and pregnant with his child. For a variety of reasons, she's decided not to keep the baby. The day she goes to the clinic, though, she's kidnapped by a pro-life couple who are determined to see her through to keeping her child.
Right to Life feels like a throw-back to The Girl Next Door. Both stories involve a woman, captive, suffering torture at the whims of a psychopath. The stories are different enough, but the core of the two works are significantly similar. The main difference is that in The Girl Next Door, the torture is something that gets out of control as the participants remove all limits on their game, while in Right to Life, the participants recognize their limits. They lose control in themselves near the end, but the fact that they're keeping her captive because they want her child keeps them in check for much of the story.
The other difference between the stories is that The Girl Next Door is an up-close, personal, unflinching look at what people are capable of doing. Right to Life, on the other hand, looks at the events from a distance, even though much of the torture is told from Sara's perspective. It seemed a step removed, somehow, like Ketchum was afraid to get too close to the horrors he portrayed in The Girl Next Door.
Parts of the story felt rushed, too, while The Girl Next Door had an almost casual pace to its telling. Sara was kept captive for three months, but the bulk of the story only covers the first six days. Ketchum tells us what happens in the time between his narrative, which contributes to the feeling that there's distance in how he tells the story. The ending was sudden, almost shockingly so. I'm used to protagonists having at least two attempts before they finally succeed against the antagonist, but here it just happened, over the course of about three pages. It wasn't an unsatisfactory ending, but it felt so rushed that I found myself questioning if it had really happened.
All of this makes me think that Ketchum wanted the point of this story to be its theme. He portrays the pro-lifers ironically, as they're clearly killers, and he touches on the issue of abortion as a woman's choice and right. Even then, though, the story feels ambiguous, as by the end of the story, not only has Sara had her baby, but she's also content with her decision (such as it is; she's been held captive so long that it's no longer a choice to keep it). I can see people on both sides of the argument finding support in this story.
This was a re-read for me, and while I took more out of the story than I think I did the first time around, I still don't see it as being a great story. Ketchum has a reputation for not holding back, but it felt like he did with this story, making it less effective. It certainly belongs in his body of work as an example of what he writes, but neither is it an example of his best work. For that, readers should still focus on The Girl Next Door or Hide and Seek
Right to Life feels like a throw-back to The Girl Next Door. Both stories involve a woman, captive, suffering torture at the whims of a psychopath. The stories are different enough, but the core of the two works are significantly similar. The main difference is that in The Girl Next Door, the torture is something that gets out of control as the participants remove all limits on their game, while in Right to Life, the participants recognize their limits. They lose control in themselves near the end, but the fact that they're keeping her captive because they want her child keeps them in check for much of the story.
The other difference between the stories is that The Girl Next Door is an up-close, personal, unflinching look at what people are capable of doing. Right to Life, on the other hand, looks at the events from a distance, even though much of the torture is told from Sara's perspective. It seemed a step removed, somehow, like Ketchum was afraid to get too close to the horrors he portrayed in The Girl Next Door.
Parts of the story felt rushed, too, while The Girl Next Door had an almost casual pace to its telling. Sara was kept captive for three months, but the bulk of the story only covers the first six days. Ketchum tells us what happens in the time between his narrative, which contributes to the feeling that there's distance in how he tells the story. The ending was sudden, almost shockingly so. I'm used to protagonists having at least two attempts before they finally succeed against the antagonist, but here it just happened, over the course of about three pages. It wasn't an unsatisfactory ending, but it felt so rushed that I found myself questioning if it had really happened.
All of this makes me think that Ketchum wanted the point of this story to be its theme. He portrays the pro-lifers ironically, as they're clearly killers, and he touches on the issue of abortion as a woman's choice and right. Even then, though, the story feels ambiguous, as by the end of the story, not only has Sara had her baby, but she's also content with her decision (such as it is; she's been held captive so long that it's no longer a choice to keep it). I can see people on both sides of the argument finding support in this story.
This was a re-read for me, and while I took more out of the story than I think I did the first time around, I still don't see it as being a great story. Ketchum has a reputation for not holding back, but it felt like he did with this story, making it less effective. It certainly belongs in his body of work as an example of what he writes, but neither is it an example of his best work. For that, readers should still focus on The Girl Next Door or Hide and Seek
princeluffy's review
4.0
This was really interesting. I enjoyed that despite the title and theme, it never broke away from being pro-choice. More than anything I am so fucking glad the cat lived. The cat lived!!!!
5hadow_girl's review
4.0
I liked this book, but the entire time I was reading it - I kept comparing it to [b:Perfect Victim: The True Story of "The Girl in the Box"|346994|Perfect Victim The True Story of "The Girl in the Box"|Carla Norton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388622180s/346994.jpg|337292]. The stories aren't just similar - some details are practically identical (once artistic license is removed).
Colleen Stan was threatened with stories of 'The Organization', and the head-box was so detailed that it couldn't have been from anywhere else.
It's a good story, but the true story of Colleen Stan is horrifying.
If you're a fan of True Crime, read [b:Perfect Victim: The True Story of "The Girl in the Box"|346994|Perfect Victim The True Story of "The Girl in the Box"|Carla Norton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388622180s/346994.jpg|337292].
Colleen Stan was threatened with stories of 'The Organization', and the head-box was so detailed that it couldn't have been from anywhere else.
It's a good story, but the true story of Colleen Stan is horrifying.
If you're a fan of True Crime, read [b:Perfect Victim: The True Story of "The Girl in the Box"|346994|Perfect Victim The True Story of "The Girl in the Box"|Carla Norton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388622180s/346994.jpg|337292].
juliabragg's review
2.0
Great fast read. The first story wasn't as good as I was hoping it to be - I was hoping for a little more "Girl Next Door". The second story in the book was much better!
lubinka's review
2.0
The second star is awarded for Ketchum's writing style which I actually enjoyed quite a lot.
More...