Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Holly by Stephen King

15 reviews

asifsyed's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Death

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail

cannibalism

devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Vomit

wednesdayzombie's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

zosiablue's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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? No

3.5

Didn't expect Stephen King to write the most COVID-based book I've read yet, but dang. And it's 2021 COVID, too, which was startling in how different we treated it then - people still wore masks and bumped elbows and worked vaccines into every conversation. We were all obsessed without knowing it and King captured that. 

This was also his most openly political book to date - not only does he satirize health nuts who are also anti-vaxxers (an elderly couple turns to cannibalism as a health cure, but thinks COVID is fake), but he spends a good deal of time excoriating the right-wing fringe. Listen, I'm not complaining. I'm on his side! But the murder mystery - which was fascinating! - was often drowned by all this other stuff. And Holly as a character seems dulled in this iteration, though maybe that's part of her arc - the healthier she gets, the more boring she becomes. Not a bad moral.

I had a good time reading (except when I had to think about COVID). And hey, Willa from Succession narrates the audiobook! (She also played Holly in a TV version.) 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, Torture, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, and Stalking

Minor: Racism

jemmabrown's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? No

5.0

I learned a valuable lesson reading this book - read the blurb.

I loved the Mr Mercedes series and really liked the first 2 books in the Finders Keepers series so when I saw this book I probably read the first line of the blurb and that was it. 

As a result I went on a fascinating, dark, mystery ride across American Politics, Literature and attitudes to the pandemic. 

Stephen King winds together so many threads to create a book that leaves you guessing just what will happen next whilst also creating debate on serious social issues. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Please be aware there are very graphic descriptions of things that appear in the content warnings. Particularly racism/racial slurs, homophobia/lesaphobia and graphic violence.