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abbiestowe's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
4.25
Incredible writing, thought provoking, had me questioning every line. Physically was so hard to put down, but was so unsettling you have to take some breaks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
zea_d_writing's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book.
On the one hand, I think it’s written very well. The prose is well done. The pacing a bit slow but it also helps build up the sense of unease. The foreshadowing is (maybe a little too) well done. The format of the text and how it relates to the story its telling is clever.
The book starts off with the strong feeling of something being not quite right. There is a sense of being on edge as you realize that something about the MC feels off and that she’s being harassed by The Caller; a mysterious caller who sends cryptic messages at all hours of the day and night. As the story progresses through the drive to the farmhouse things become more surreal and strange. The dinner with the parents feels downright unnerving. And by the time the story arrives at the school, its very obvious that something very wrong is going on.
The tension built up in this story is very well done. And I think the author did an amazing job laying the groundwork and then pulling all of the pieces together in the end.
HOWEVER, the trope of “the terror/horror of this story is that the character is mentally ill” is a) really tired and b) extremely problematic and harmful. I don’t have the condition that this story depicts so I can’t speak on how this story handles it. But when the “twist” happened it just felt like a letdown. I could tell it was coming, it was well foreshadowed, but it was still a letdown. It wasn’t scary, it wasn’t thrilling. It was tragic and unfortunate and its such an overused “twist” that it didn’t feel like anything new or original.
Also…it can’t be argued that this wasn’t supposed to be read as a thriller/horror novel and instead was supposed to be a study of the fragility of the mind, exploration of identity, and how mental illness can warp our realities. It’s listed as a psychological thriller/horror. It’s marketed as a psychological thriller/horror. All of the reviews list it as “creepy”, “thrilling”, “terrifying”, “a twisted nightmare”…and on and on. And the story is written as a thriller; intentionally meant to be creepy and framed as a horror. And therefore the “twist” of the story just simply being that the MC is mentally ill and the “I’m thinking of ending things” actually means suicide…is tired and problematic.
As someone who struggles with mental illness, I don’t think it’s impossible to tell a thriller/horror story that features mental illness without it being problematic. I think its very possible. And I’m not saying this book did the worst job at this. I actually think the author tried to be mindful of how he handled the subject. There are absolutely more harmful depictions out there. But that doesn’t negate that this book still fell into harmful tropes.
I’m giving this 3⭐️ because I really think the author did a good job crafting the story and I enjoyed it up until the end. But the end kind of killed it for me. (Yes, I do understand the ending. I didn’t find it confusing at all. It felt well supported and fairly straightforward to me. It was just tired and problematic.)
On the one hand, I think it’s written very well. The prose is well done. The pacing a bit slow but it also helps build up the sense of unease. The foreshadowing is (maybe a little too) well done. The format of the text and how it relates to the story its telling is clever.
The book starts off with the strong feeling of something being not quite right. There is a sense of being on edge as you realize that something about the MC feels off and that she’s being harassed by The Caller; a mysterious caller who sends cryptic messages at all hours of the day and night. As the story progresses through the drive to the farmhouse things become more surreal and strange. The dinner with the parents feels downright unnerving. And by the time the story arrives at the school, its very obvious that something very wrong is going on.
The tension built up in this story is very well done. And I think the author did an amazing job laying the groundwork and then pulling all of the pieces together in the end.
HOWEVER, the trope of “the terror/horror of this story is that the character is mentally ill” is a) really tired and b) extremely problematic and harmful. I don’t have the condition that this story depicts so I can’t speak on how this story handles it. But when the “twist” happened it just felt like a letdown. I could tell it was coming, it was well foreshadowed, but it was still a letdown. It wasn’t scary, it wasn’t thrilling. It was tragic and unfortunate and its such an overused “twist” that it didn’t feel like anything new or original.
Also…it can’t be argued that this wasn’t supposed to be read as a thriller/horror novel and instead was supposed to be a study of the fragility of the mind, exploration of identity, and how mental illness can warp our realities. It’s listed as a psychological thriller/horror. It’s marketed as a psychological thriller/horror. All of the reviews list it as “creepy”, “thrilling”, “terrifying”, “a twisted nightmare”…and on and on. And the story is written as a thriller; intentionally meant to be creepy and framed as a horror. And therefore the “twist” of the story just simply being that the MC is mentally ill and the “I’m thinking of ending things” actually means suicide…is tired and problematic.
As someone who struggles with mental illness, I don’t think it’s impossible to tell a thriller/horror story that features mental illness without it being problematic. I think its very possible. And I’m not saying this book did the worst job at this. I actually think the author tried to be mindful of how he handled the subject. There are absolutely more harmful depictions out there. But that doesn’t negate that this book still fell into harmful tropes.
I’m giving this 3⭐️ because I really think the author did a good job crafting the story and I enjoyed it up until the end. But the end kind of killed it for me. (Yes, I do understand the ending. I didn’t find it confusing at all. It felt well supported and fairly straightforward to me. It was just tired and problematic.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, and Blood
bookburdy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Minor: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
inmyhead's review
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
You definitely are going to have to look up the explanation or re-read the book to understand what's actually happening, it's amazing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Grief
It's really sad once you figure out what's actually happening but I do think it's definitely an awakening of almost saying "Don't stay to much in your head" and to talk to others or it will drive you mad and cause sadness.shreyash_89's review
dark
mysterious
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
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Murder
caties_books's review
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Stalking, and Death of parent