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meg_demint's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
There is not enough shark in this book. At times, you think maybe some smart commentary is happening but no, this isn’t a particularly smart book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ripxreads's review against another edition
dark
medium-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? No
1.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity
shetef's review against another edition
any author that uses the word "pediphile" to describe a foot fetishist should be shoved in a locker.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Misogyny
Moderate: Infidelity
hannuhreads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
2 stars.
🦈 The vibes:
- A classic
- Thriller / horror
- Unlikable characters
- Relationship drama
🦈 My thoughts:
Where do I even begin? Storygraph told me I wouldn’t like this one and once again Storygraph was correct. 2 stars feels generous- but I will say it’s not that this book is written poorly. It’s just that I disliked almost everything in this book.
If this book was written to show how terrible humans are- then it did that. But otherwise- I don’t think this book gave me anything good. I’ve seen online a lot of attempts at explaining the moral of the book; some say it’s about fear, others say it’s about nature, and more say it’s about predators (ie human). For me- the best I can take away from this novel is that it shows just how flawed humans are and how deep greed runs in our blood. Almost every character exhibited deep selfishness and greed. But enough with the philosophical chat. Now onto my unfiltered thoughts.
Theres a shark, sure. But mostly there’s a lot of bad behavior here. The shark is almost the hero compared to the rest of the characters. Sigh.
Ok. So let’s just jump into the various categories (and how they didn’t work for me):
This book is pretty gory and gross. There’s tore up bodies from the shark- limbs, blood, and guts. It’s just nasty. I don’t recommend snacking while reading this one.
The gore is probably the least gross thing to mention. Overall- it’s just gross in all the ways. Like mentioning the police chief Brody dreaming of when he’s in highschool groping a girl in the stairwell or how he’s married but feels things when he sees young blonds in the beach running bouncing around. Or talk about teenage boys grinding into the sand to get their jolly’s. See. Gross.
But ultimately I was disgusted by Ellen’s behavior. She says all girls fantasize about being a prostitute and sleeping with a bunch of men …. And that she specifically fantasizes about being raped. A whole scenario she explains in detail. Gross, guys. Gross. I absolutely don’t want to hear about this, Ellen. Nobody does.
Furthermore - cheating and affairs is something I don’t enjoy to see. Flirting with married people entertaining flings. Bleh.
There’s elements of prejudice/racists comments. I didn’t enjoy this.
There’s mobs, animal cruelty, and almost every other CW out there for this book. It’s just a big yikes in all the ways.
Specifically - amongst others - a baby dolphin and a cat is killed. I really disliked this book. I rest my case.
I don’t know that this would be considered “open door” necessarily but there’s enough explicit descriptions throughout that I’d go ahead and consider it as such.
Note: open/language
Check CW for this. It’s extensive.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Rape, Blood, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting
bookishevy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
As stated in my previous post, I was in the mood for a thriller. What's a bigger summer thriller than Jaws? I listened to the entire book in one go.
I don't have enough space to discuss how many ways the book differs from the film, but I'll draw some comparisons. Chief Brody is not former NYPD who settles in Amity. He's actually a local. His wife, Ellen, comes from a well-off family who vacationed there. After marrying Brody and settling in Amity, she drifted away from the high life. Now, she yearns to be among the more cultured. When marine biologist Matt Hooper resurfaces from her past, Ellen sees him as a chance to recapture what she's lost. Brody takes an immediate dislike to Matt, who represents everything Brody hates about the upper class.
Life for the 1000 residents of Amity depends on the money that the 9000 summer vacationers bring in. The pressure Brody is under to keep the beaches open is more felt in the book because the mayor is mixed up with dangerous people and trying to save his own neck. Matt's a snob, Brody isn't the kindest husband, Ellen's flirting with other men. In the book, the shark isn't the only villain. I now understand why Spielberg initially rooted for the shark and decided to make the characters more likable to moviegoers.
But I loved that the book's characters are flawed. There's more at stake, and the tension between Brody and Hooper adds to the suspense on the boat while they hunt for the maneater with Quint. The attacks are more graphic. A key character in the film dies, leaving me stunned, and the shark's death isn't as explosive as in the film. Spielberg, again, giving moviegoers what they want. To me, the book's ending is more haunting. Erik Steele does a great job with the characters, especially Quint, who, unlike in the film, doesn't have a reason to hate sharks. He just thinks they're dumb. Until he meets this one.
I don't have enough space to discuss how many ways the book differs from the film, but I'll draw some comparisons. Chief Brody is not former NYPD who settles in Amity. He's actually a local. His wife, Ellen, comes from a well-off family who vacationed there. After marrying Brody and settling in Amity, she drifted away from the high life. Now, she yearns to be among the more cultured. When marine biologist Matt Hooper resurfaces from her past, Ellen sees him as a chance to recapture what she's lost. Brody takes an immediate dislike to Matt, who represents everything Brody hates about the upper class.
Life for the 1000 residents of Amity depends on the money that the 9000 summer vacationers bring in. The pressure Brody is under to keep the beaches open is more felt in the book because the mayor is mixed up with dangerous people and trying to save his own neck. Matt's a snob, Brody isn't the kindest husband, Ellen's flirting with other men. In the book, the shark isn't the only villain. I now understand why Spielberg initially rooted for the shark and decided to make the characters more likable to moviegoers.
But I loved that the book's characters are flawed. There's more at stake, and the tension between Brody and Hooper adds to the suspense on the boat while they hunt for the maneater with Quint. The attacks are more graphic. A key character in the film dies, leaving me stunned, and the shark's death isn't as explosive as in the film. Spielberg, again, giving moviegoers what they want. To me, the book's ending is more haunting. Erik Steele does a great job with the characters, especially Quint, who, unlike in the film, doesn't have a reason to hate sharks. He just thinks they're dumb. Until he meets this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity
infinite_finite's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, and Infidelity
woodsybookworm's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
What was that!? Maybe it'd be rated higher for me if I hadn't grown up with the movie and fallen in love with that first but still!!!!
Things I liked:
- the detail of the shark attacks
- the few moments we actually see the shark (this book was more about Hooper and Ellen's affair than the freaking shark)
Things I didn't like:
- the affair subplot (main plot?)
- the shark being described as "the fish" Even other characters in the book say that it's odd when the shark is described that way but that's how it's described for the ENTIRE book 🐟
Other thoughts:
- Vaughn should have been eaten by "the fish". Why did he get to skip off into the sunset? He was a terrible person.
Maybe my nostalgia for the movie is blinding me, but I was not a fan of this book at all.
Things I liked:
- the detail of the shark attacks
- the few moments we actually see the shark (this book was more about Hooper and Ellen's affair than the freaking shark)
Things I didn't like:
- the affair subplot (main plot?)
- the shark being described as "the fish" Even other characters in the book say that it's odd when the shark is described that way but that's how it's described for the ENTIRE book 🐟
Other thoughts:
- Vaughn should have been eaten by "the fish". Why did he get to skip off into the sunset? He was a terrible person.
Maybe my nostalgia for the movie is blinding me, but I was not a fan of this book at all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Infidelity, and Blood
lareinadehades's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I was rooting for the shark after chapter 2. But... the book is about everything BUT the shark. And then after a lackluster book, it just dies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, and Racism
Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, and Sexual assault
gummybearlife's review
adventurous
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, and Infidelity
ghoulishshark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I’m so glad that I never bought a copy of this book and just borrowed it from the library. I would never recommend this. If you love the Jaws movies like I do save yourself the time.
The only good parts were the few scenes with the shark. I was expecting this to be a lot like the movie but this was like 90% about infidelity. The only reason I’m not rating this lower is that I don’t hate this book, I’m just
extremely disappointed.
extremely disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Rape, Vomit, and Lesbophobia