Reviews tagging 'Death'

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

91 reviews

heatherpageone's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.75

I enjoyed this book as it is, but I wish it were scarier. One thing that really turned me off while reading is the Blogger POV thing. For me, it would be better if the author just stuck with Merry's childhood memories rather than alternating between Merry's child POV and the Blog. 

The first part was creepy and gross enough to make me stop reading for a few hours, but later parts of the book became repetitive, and the plot suddenly took a nosedive. And the ending, well, it's okay for me.

Overall, it's a hit or miss for me—neither hating nor loving the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Self harm

matcha_cat's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Vomit, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Sexual content, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Excrement, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

starsiren's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Didn't get what I expected, but what I got was great!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

holy_moly_colee's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

This was a book filled with unexpected events and a lot of unanswered questions (and I don't know if that was a good or bad thing). It brought together schizophrenia, exorcism, documentary/ reality TV, teen angst, and deciet. I still don't know if the sister was pretending, mentally ill, or possessed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Suicide, and Murder

princess_marie's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Violence

Minor: Death, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

somebodys_fool's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

jaedia's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

jessicalarson125's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Blood, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Self harm and Alcohol

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Vomit

epeolatrist's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

I can't believe I convinced myself into starting this book at 1 am. I won't lie and say that I'm not easily scared (because I am), but horror novels typically don't rattle me. A Head Full of Ghosts, however, had me on sleeping with the lights on. The novel is as terrifying as it is mysterious--throughout the entire story I couldn't tell whether Marjorie was genuinely possessed or simply an extremely ill teenage girl who needed help. It kept me on my toes while I read every page. It's impressive, to me, to read writing that gives no hints as to what is true and what is not until the end. There were moments when I predicted whether Marjorie's actions were demonic or schizophrenic, but each time I decided, I would change my mind.

I really enjoyed A Head Full of Ghosts (even if it kept me from sleeping). It was a fast and interesting read that scared me to my core. I'm not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to read this in my 100-year old childhood home which I've always thought it to be "haunted" (but can you blame me for having an overactive imagination when I read books like this?) I won't spoil the ending for you, but I was amazed at how Paul Tremblay was able to make my jaw drop all the way to the floor. I genuinely loved this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Self harm, Vomit, and Death of parent

musicmenagerie's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Not as scary as I thought it would be, but thought-provoking. And, the ending really shocked me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail