Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

3 reviews

lunahbee's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Listen. This book is a tough read. Not because of the writing but because of the subject matter. That said, I did enjoy this book because of how many emotions it brought up in me. Most of them not pleasant. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Blood, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Self harm, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Pedophilia

Listen to the warnings (Dead Dove Do Not Eat)

killmoore_'s review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

I was very familiar with the Sylvia Likens case going in to the girl next door, and honestly, I was grateful that Ketchum took it upon himself to narrate the novel in a way that left the most gruesome details to the imagination - what happened to Sylvia was truly terrible, and to describe in detail what happened through a work of fiction would, in a way, be disrespectful.

However, despite being well written and truly gut wrenching, I feel that Ketchum missed the mark on painting a true monster in Ruth. I understand that this is written through the eyes of a child, but it really just skims the surface on what motivates a person to commit these atrocities, let alone the impact a trusted adults actions have on the children in their care. 

Girl Next Door is awful. It is a gruesome depiction of child abuse, grief and depravity, written in a way that is still palatable for the general public. Check your trigger warnings and prepare to have your heart broken. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Torture, Child abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, Rape, Child death, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Excrement, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

stacymania's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was my first Jack Ketchum book, and now I need more! I've heard they're difficult to track down so fingers crossed!  

The story starts out nice enough; two girls taken in by their aunt after a tragic accident. Narrated by the boy next door.

However, as events slowly turn to the worst, I couldn't keep this book out of my hands. Growing fear, disgust and absolute outraged gripped me. I would close the book, fearing the worst and find myself reading again almost immediately. I needed to know what happened at every turn.

TGND deals with extreme subject matter, yet Ketchum shows us just enough of the horror to keep it digestible. The unwritten horrors are implied enough that they blooms in the reader's mind, which shows his absolute talent for writing.

I have never hated a character as much as I loathed the main antagonist in The Girl Next Door. I wanted to reach into the pages and destroy her. I was so angry and devastatingly frustrated! 

Ketchum formed these characters and events so well that I was fully immersed and transported into the story. Although this was probably the most horrific and difficult book I've read, it has become an immediate favourite of mine. 

I need more Ketchum!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, and Addiction