jayfr's review against another edition
3.0
Dark, twisted and with an ending that will have you scratching your head and wondering what the hell happened.
The author pays homage to the greats of horror writing while seemingly lampooning reality TV.
Was it a great horror story? No, I've read better.
Was it unique? Kind of but also formulaic.
Would I read it again? Probably not.
Will I recommend it? Hmm difficult, maybe but it's not for everyone.
The author pays homage to the greats of horror writing while seemingly lampooning reality TV.
Was it a great horror story? No, I've read better.
Was it unique? Kind of but also formulaic.
Would I read it again? Probably not.
Will I recommend it? Hmm difficult, maybe but it's not for everyone.
maggotqueen666's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
seyoung's review against another edition
2.0
The ending was unexpected and honestly kinda disappointing? It felt shlocky shocking for shock value's sake and made me feel like... what was the point of this entire story? It didn't feel like the author had anything he wanted to say about families or mental illness or religion beyond the most basic trite stuff.
zeroshi's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bread_mountain's review against another edition
5.0
I found the blog post sections really obnoxious. I'm still giving it five stars because I liked everything else so much and it's not like giving an extra star costs me anything.
mkean's review against another edition
3.0
More frustrating and sad than scary.
I liked the first half of the book, before the filming started, because it felt like a very believable picture of a normal family dealing with a mentally-ill daughter. But after that, it all started seeming less-and-less plausible.
I finished it because I was curious as to how it would end, and because the audiobook narrator did a very good job. Otherwise I might not have finished it.
I liked the first half of the book, before the filming started, because it felt like a very believable picture of a normal family dealing with a mentally-ill daughter. But after that, it all started seeming less-and-less plausible.
I finished it because I was curious as to how it would end, and because the audiobook narrator did a very good job. Otherwise I might not have finished it.
cms04j's review
5.0
Tremblay takes a story we all think we know and leaves us wondering
I really enjoyed this novel. The horror is more of a creeping, slow, questioning of reality type horror than the typical gore fest most associate with horror and horror films. It's a more nagging feeling that gnaws on your brain. As a potential SPOILER----> this is a book with an ambiguous ending. Meaning that he leaves the interpretation up to the reader, and there is quite a bit of online debate over what "really" happened.
I really enjoyed this novel. The horror is more of a creeping, slow, questioning of reality type horror than the typical gore fest most associate with horror and horror films. It's a more nagging feeling that gnaws on your brain. As a potential SPOILER----> this is a book with an ambiguous ending. Meaning that he leaves the interpretation up to the reader, and there is quite a bit of online debate over what "really" happened.
whatthefawkes's review against another edition
5.0
Okay, this was amazing and everything I ever want in a chilling psychological thriller. Who do I trust? What do I believe? These are the tasty questions I like to be left with.
Full review to come.
Full review to come.
hannahhelms's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-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
4.25
paracosm's review against another edition
3.0
This would have worked better if it wasn't a horror book. The premise of this book, about a family getting a reality TV show about their "possesed" daughter could have been amazing for a literary fiction story. It could have involved themes of the dangers of believing pseudo-science instead of actual medicine, mental illness, how fake TV is, or others. Those are sort of hinted throughout the novel, but none of them are the main focus because the author is too busy writing a horror book that doesn't even end up being scary at the end. Seriously, the horror element was terrible.
It's clear that the author wants us to believe that the father is a religious fanatic who puts God above his family, but it's not well stablished. He prays, reads the Bible, goes to church and those actions are treated like proof of his insanity, but that's just stuff that regular religious people do. The worst thing he does is attacking a bunch of protestors that had been camping outside his home for weeks while yelling profanities, and it kinda makes sense that he would do that.
For such a short book there's so much filler. Every once in a while the author stops the plot to explain scene that we just witnessed and to tell the reader exactly what should they think about them. Those didn't need to be there. Overall this book was not worth the time I spent with it.
It's clear that the author wants us to believe that the father is a religious fanatic who puts God above his family, but it's not well stablished. He prays, reads the Bible, goes to church and those actions are treated like proof of his insanity, but that's just stuff that regular religious people do. The worst thing he does is attacking a bunch of protestors that had been camping outside his home for weeks while yelling profanities, and it kinda makes sense that he would do that.
For such a short book there's so much filler. Every once in a while the author stops the plot to explain scene that we just witnessed and to tell the reader exactly what should they think about them. Those didn't need to be there. Overall this book was not worth the time I spent with it.