wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Alcohol, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Racism, Car accident, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual content, and Vomit
pandact's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The plot is almost like
Spoiler
Wicked (2003) with the themes of Riot Baby (2020) and epic gore. Two things bothered me though: why did Wendy think fake dating would help her? Also, I guess it's cool to have an extra with a hearing aid, but why did Maddy stop needing glasses when she got powers and a boyfriend?The universe sings to meeee!
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Police brutality, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Hate crime, and Child death
Moderate: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Animal death, Death of parent, Classism, Outing, Mass/school shootings, Grief, Car accident, and Body shaming
Minor: Ableism
ghostlyprince's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Suicide, Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Classism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Stalking, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Alcohol, Abandonment, Infidelity, and Car accident
Minor: Cancer and Gun violence
natnat_7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Gore, Racial slurs, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Suicide, Car accident, Ableism, Child abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexism, and Vomit
aformeracceleratedreader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
My heart goes out to Maddy in so many ways. I can't begin to imagine the hurt and difficulties her character had to face.
I wish some characters were spared from death
Spoiler
like Mrs Morgan who seemed like the only teacher who gave a shit about the racism happeningSpoiler
Jules had died. That girl was vile through and through and lied even after losing her arm, her college acceptance, her best friend. F that bitch. Didn't acknowledge any of her wrongdoings to Maddy or any of the other black kids. She is irredeemableThere are heavy topics in here so read content/trigger warnings.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Confinement, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Car accident, Racism, Violence, Vomit, Dysphoria, and Grief
vanadiumbean's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It's a faithful retelling of the events of Carrie.
The prose is functional, but it started to drag the longer the book went on. I noticed the author has a habit of tagging on these little "filter" phrases ("it seemed like," "he might have felt") that pulled me out of the flow of narrative.
I enjoyed the faux-multimedia aspect of the book and the dramatic irony, although I wish it had been used to better effect. I also, and this is a more personal issue, found the "true crime (but also ooky spooky paranormal)" slant to the media as pretty distasteful, especially given that in-universe the events of Bloody Prom are less than a decade old. I also found it hard to read how seriously we were meant to take the "Maddy Did It" podcast.
Spoiler
The whole "brought on people to talk really vaguely about how real and also Christian Telekinesis is made me roll my eyes. I personally don't care for them trying to make the events seem Grounded in Science, because the introduction of kooks just made the events seem absurd rather than Potentially Real.Ultimately, it's just kind of okay. I think where it works best is the conflict between all the teen characters and the descriptions of prom.
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Child death, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Animal death, and Police brutality
Minor: Alcohol, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Sexual content, Murder, Cursing, and Car accident
lupitabaeyongo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Blood, Child abuse, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Confinement, and Classism
caseythereader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
- I'll admit that I've never read or seen CARRIE, though I know enough of it to know that THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD is a fantastic, updated retelling.
- Jackson's books are real page turners while also dealing with intense conversations around race and the systems that continue to oppress Black people every day.
- Even knowing from the beginning how this story would end, I couldn't put it down. The imagery is haunting and the characters deeply memorable. I'll be thinking of this one for a long time.
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Racism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Car accident, Gun violence, Violence, Abandonment, Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Vomit
criticalbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Violence, Classism, Racism, Sexual content, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Murder, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Hate crime, and Racial slurs
bookedandbusy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Gore, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Murder, Car accident, Bullying, Blood, Hate crime, Classism, Child death, Racism, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Death, and Gun violence