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princess_marie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Outing, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Bullying and Kidnapping
nuggetbyzoe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.25
Was loving this but the end section was a little unnecessary. Could've been a little shorter and skip that section but still a good read. Kept me hooked!
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol
finnsnowbevi's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Outing
Minor: Sexual content and Medical content
sonygaystation's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Violence, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Pedophilia, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse and Infidelity
yomireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Done well is the alienation children feel as their parents' troubles bleed into the rest of the family, and the fear of leaving behind the familiar. The lesbian character does feel a touch on the nose, but the fear of being outed and the tenuous hold on who to trust is good.
Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Alcohol
Moderate: Confinement, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Kidnapping
minimicropup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
We follow several families with POVs from kids, teens, and adults around the neighbourhood over the course of Halloween night in 1984.
πΊπΈ Set in Coventry, Massachussetts, USA
π Halloween night setting - big parties, small hang outs, trick-or-treating!
π§ Narration was good - sometimes the voices of smaller kids was a bit silly sounding but didn't knock me out of the story.
πΊπGrowls, Howls, and Tail Wags:
π«£ Lots of suburban scandals and drama, but it isn't OTT or soap opera, campy style. Pretty realistic family and relationship dynamics.
π There are a lot of characters and families, and when audio only, that can be hard to follow. For me it was excellent because we get a show-not-tell style introduction to each of them and we spend more time with them at the beginning of the book before the action starts up so we can rapidly switch between them later without being lost. It probably also helps that I cared about (or was at least curious about) what happened to all of them.
π€ There are quite a few action-fight-survival type scenes. I find I lose interest in that type of scene mainly because it's hard for me to imagine a fight scene happening quickly when I'm reading it so everything is sort of slow-mo in my imagination. I still enjoyed the overall plot, and if you like action-fight-escapes vs monsters then this could be a huge perk! The story starts off gradually layering the creepy, dark vibes and then proceeds to the faster paced wildness.
π€ Speaking of which, those fight and escape scenes are "if these monsters existed, this is how it would go down" realistic. So...don't get too attached....there are some surprisingly sad scenes.
Mood Reading Match Up:
- Cozy, '80s, fall Halloween trick-or-treat, home-made haunted woods, and block party horrors
- Creepy kids, stay-out-of-the-woods creature feature with action survival suspense
- Suburban behind-closed-doors drama
- Heartwarming and heartbreaking BFF coming-of-age stories
Content Heads-Up: Physical abuse (relationship). Alcohol (enabling, addiction). Infidelity (discovery, separation/divorce). LGBTQ coming-of-age rep (good to excellent; vocally supportive family and friends). Homophobic characters (outing, shaming, verbal and emotional abuse). Kidnapping (insinuated). Child abuse (insinuated).
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Outing, and Alcohol
bloomandgloom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I didn't care about any of the characters in this story, no one had enough development to make me root for them. The Cunning Man was not scary or interesting since we know nothing about him. The book would have seemed much better if there had been a local legend or a story people told young children to scare them but no one believes it. It could have done with some references of missing children on Halloween in different locations across the country or world. Overall, it just needed a little more mystery and lore to make it more believable. A family member also could have known someone that went missing to tie it together.
I am not an author so I'm not going to pretend like it would have been easy or quick to add all of that in.
Sadly, this was disappointing and not something I'd recommend as a Halloween read. I wouldn't even recommend it to someone younger because they might find it scary since there are a lot of adult topics discussed.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Outing, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
lostinworlds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Kidnapping
sdsmith80's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I love Halloween. My whole family does really. Right from the first few pages, I identified with the Barbosa family. My husband has an extensive history in the haunt industry, and I helped him run the makeup room for a season at one as well. So reading about Chloe and her dad setting up their home haunt in the woods behind their house, I was immediately hooked.
The story picks up quickly, weaving the stories of the different neighbors' lives wonderfully. The author wastes no time with the creepy elements showing up even as he is giving us the backstory of each character, and the small (or large) dramas going on in their lives.
Very soon we're off and running, with twists and turns around every page. I was kept guessing as each element was introduced, making for a thrilling read. The thing I enjoyed the most though was Christopher Golden's creation of the mythology in this world. I'm very curious to know how much is based on actual lore, if any.
This book is absolutely perfect for anyone who loves Halloween, and the stories that surround it.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse and Racism
Minor: Racial slurs