Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

21 reviews

hailey_horror's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

mydistortedparadise's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

Check trigger warnings. I went into this book blind - I knew it was a horror book but didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into. It feels wrong to rate this book because of the content - I can’t bring myself to comment on anything else. Despite making my stomach turn, regularly, it felt like a car crash that I couldnt look away from and had to see through the end.  
At which point. - per the authors note - I realized this was based on a true story. Which is apparently even worse, and more sickening. I cant comment on how well this book stuck to the facts as I am unfamiliar, and quite frankly I do not want to know the reality. This book was horrifying as fiction, and it feels exploitative knowing it isn’t entirely fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Car accident, and Death of parent

callofthewild's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

killmoore_'s review

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

laniemax's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

archaicrobin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Honestly this was a hard one to rate. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed this, it’s not really a book you enjoy, but it was well written and truly disturbing. Especially if you’re familiar with the true crime case this book is based on, the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens.

From the perspective of one of the teen bystanders who is not necessarily completely innocent, the reader has an interesting perspective as the narrator explains why and how he was able to standby without intervening when such horrific things were being done. 

This is not for the faint of heart, or for anyone that’s looking for a happy ending. The Girl Next Door is very bleak, and exposes the horrors that are present in our neighborhoods which should be safe.  Definitely recommend this to horror fans or those interested in true crime, not for your everyday best seller reader!

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Content Warnings

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

waverlyloyd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

sargasso_c's review against another edition

Wonderfully written and absolutely horrific.

Inspired by the true torture and murder of Sylvia Likens

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Excrement, Grief, Car accident, and Alcohol

Minor: Dysphoria

stardustdreamer's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, and Alcohol

alicenonsense's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I'm never having kids 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail