Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

31 reviews

bugferbrains's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I think one of the best feelings in the world is getting to the end of a book, putting it back on the shelf, and being able to say to yourself, “I finished that one”. It feels like earning a paycheck. Longer books can be difficult for me to get through for this reason, and sometimes I’ll pause what I’m reading to get through something shorter, just to give myself that little zing of accomplishment. However, Imaginary Friend roped me in so much that I sat through all 706 pages without touching anything else. 

I’m seeing a lot of more negative reviews, and I totally understand why. This thing is LONG. It’s repetitive, but for me it wasn’t unbearably so. It helped keep things cohesive and there was enough variation in the repeating themes and visual imagery to keep things interesting while not becoming boring. I kept asking myself, “what is the metaphor or story connection behind this thing?”, which helped to keep my attention, and it made every small detail feel incredibly important and deliberate. It’s also got heavy Christian/religious themes, which I understand, too, that that can be jarring and upsetting when there’s not a single thing in its synopsis that points towards that. If you picked it up because you thought it would be a neat ghost story, or something else classically paranormal, it would totally throw you off. I’m lucky in the fact that I happen to be a spiritual person and wasn’t stuck on wanting to read a spooky, paranormal book at the time I started it, so while I was hoping for a ghost story, I was pleasantly surprised to read about faith struggles (which I’m always a sucker for, no matter how the struggle ends) and commentary on Christianity, both its ugly and beautiful side. It hit me really hard because of it. 

It happened to fall into my lap at the right time of my life, echoing some of my own thoughts and feelings about Christianity, its followers, and how we should live and treat others, while also sharing some new ideas with me. At its core, it’s a story about love, hope, and the idea that no one is too far gone from being saved (I don’t mean that religiously). That there is potential for good in everyone, no matter how far it’s been squashed down, that can rise with compassion and the right conditions. I know not every follower believes this, but it resonates deeply with me. 

I could go on and on about how deeply I fell in love with the characters, how incredible a relationship the main mother and son have, how much I wish I could hug Mary Katherine, how much I really enjoyed the big twist, the way the writing shifts in style for each character….. Ugh, chef’s kiss. I was worried after the last two reads I had that I’d be on a crappy book streak, but this one was like a breath of fresh air. I’m not usually interested in coming of age stories, but if this is how Stephen Chbosky normally writes I might have to give Perks of Being a Wallflower a chance. Wonderful work!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicide, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Infertility, Torture, Islamophobia, and Pregnancy

raichoreads's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

0.25

I honestly didn’t know I could hate a book this much. The first few hours of this book are pretty engaging. And then things start to get really tense with the madness in the town rising and Christopher’s growing power - and then it just doesn’t end. This book goes on for waaaaaay too long and it just made me resentful of every aspect of it. I started to get annoyed with all of the pointless self referential diction. I got annoyed anytime there was an unnecessary sentence. I started listening at 2x speed and it still wasn’t over fast enough. Get an editor.

Rapid fire content complaints: The strange religious turn this book makes is bizarre and out of place. The female characters in this book spend much too much of their time being victimized by men or feeling pre-occupied by their relationships (whereas the men in this story do not). There are way too many side characters who are never mentioned again who speak in “broken English” and who the white voice actor puts on accents for. There’s just a lot of annoying white man story writing choices here. Also the “psychosis is a death sentence” mentality so supremely frustrating and demonstrates a clear lack of understanding of mental illness and what living with psychosis is like (doesn’t make people inherently violent or suicidal - shocker)

The .25 stars here are for Mary-Catherine’s arc. And while most of the female characters do feel very written by a man, the way Kate is written feels like a little boy’s love letter to his working class mom. There’s a few good emotional nuggets in here.

It takes Christopher WAY too long to realize he’s in hell and I’m so annoyed that the hissing lady is Eve. And okay so Eve tells God she’s sorry for what she did and he says “I know. I’m sorry too.” And honestly that pissed me off because it still insinuates that Eve did anything wrong (when it felt like Mary-Catherine’s tirade suggested she didn’t??) Also the book ends with a suggestion to the second coming of Christ???? Wild choice bro.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Racism and Vomit

Racism is tagged cuz of the racist side characters.

lraronson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

mykieangelno's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

incredible horror novel with an intriguing slightly uplifting ending, had some cheesy lines and motifs that made me cringe a little

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Blood, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Alcohol

this book is great but includes every trigger warning under the sun

itsessbee's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Character study meets thriller meets religious exploration. The first half seemed to drag, but paid off in the end. Incredibly creepy imagery. Check trigger warnings before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content

finn_vibing's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Dementia, Sexual harassment, and War

theimposter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

rcd229's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Torture

Minor: Bullying, Drug use, and Miscarriage

thetearex's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

dez02's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I will start off by saying that anyone who is sensitive to triggers, or is easily upset/disturbed should not read this book. 

This book primarily focuses on children and the mess of their families. It is detailed and intense. The author describes many horrible things that happen to these children. I would say it is not for the faint of heart. 

I found myself having to take a break multiple times. Having to sit back and just take in what I read. 

That being said, the book was beautifully written. It's in 3rd person (I believe, correct me if I'm wrong), so we get the opinions of every character that we can. We see what goes on in their heads and how they get manipulated by "The Nice Man". 

It shows just how fragile humanity can be, and how with the flip of a switch, everything could come crumbling down. Just a little whisper in someone's ear to send them down the wrong path could be the catalyst to ruining their lives. 

Although the topics of the book are dark I did enjoy reading it. I recommen it with caution. Think about your own mental health and decide if you are in a steady place to delve into something dark. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy