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ivyshack's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is one of those novels where everyone who reads it may have an interpretation that is similar in some regards, but wildly different when it gets to thematic details. Regardless of one's thematic or genre preferences, it's worth the read just for the intricate writing and lush atmosphere. I only wish this book had been a little sapphic...
Moderate: Self harm and Sexual violence
Minor: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
unidentifiedfilipinoobject'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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Murder
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Rape
beanodie75'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Gore, Sexual violence, and Violence
addie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Self harm, Sexual violence, and Death of parent
lokes'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
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
laurataylor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
erebus53'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? It's complicated
4.0
The writing is poetic, weird, fanciful, evocative, and conveys a sense of claustrophobic, existential dread that could easily be described as paranoid schizophrenic. Cthulhu is mentioned more than once; whether the narrator is reliable or not, is your call.
A lot of the discomforting tone of the book is tapping deep into common stressors. Our main character Samantha is forced into group work (the horror!) with a clique of rich and sheltered young women who are completely self-involved, and codependent. She nicknames them "the Bunnies" because they use the term Bunny as an affectionate pet term for each other. This stifling environment is ruled over by an abusive tutor (treated as a mentor and carer) who is continually encouraging them to get uncomfortable and use their pain in their art.
I haven't read a story set in a school with a more real feeling of loneliness, insecurity, and anxiety.. and I have read a lot of YA authors. The girls derive their strength from subjugating their individuality, becoming a hive mind that is as oppressive as it is inclusive. To be accepted one must pay a great price, and even those on the inside are continually being torn down by the narcissistic cycle of love-bombing, gas-lighting, and passive/aggressive negativity. Every interaction feels invasively vulnerable. Every interaction feels like a trap.
The town around the campus feels barren. Although there are opulent houses, there are certain parts of town that are derelict. Samantha finds herself moving out of her stifling p*ss-yellow apartment, in a building full of people with mental illnesses, into a derelict building. She lives with an aloof gothic-punk girl who she attends tango class with, and who carries a hip-flask labelled "drink me". The Alice In Wonderland theme is riffed on, quite a bit. Their relationship is almost homo-erotic, but asexually so.
The Othering in this story is next level. Girls moon over fantasy boys who are often dead superstars like James Dean, or characters from Greek myth. They are made fantasy by being utterly unreal, un-attainable, and fetishised through being exotic or not even speaking English. I only realise this after noticing the sexualisation of the tutor who speaks with a Scottish accent. It's like they are so starved for stimulation, and yet so terrified of reality that they need to create abstracted lust. There is no vulnerability with a partner who isn't really a person, bunny.
Graphic: Animal death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Abandonment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit
ambenicole418's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I can’t really explain this book or my feelings on it, but I feel like there is definitely some commentary in here on loneliness and isolation, and the lengths our brain will go to help us cope with these feelings, especially when we look at Samantha and Ava’s friendship. Honestly, I think I might have enjoyed forming my own/reading other people’s interpretations of this book more than I enjoyed reading the book itself.
I do wish we got to spend some more time inside the bunny cult though. Their hive mind dynamic, weird hybrid rituals, and how desensitized they were to all of it were the most interesting parts of the book, and it feels like we spent a criminally short amount of time with them in that space.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
chloebaboey's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape and Death of parent
zosiahalbersztat'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
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Murder