The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
ohkaereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Albeit, the book had its moments. The past and present were woven well into the novel. The chapters and parts were organized rightfully. I also liked the small integration of music into the story, the lyrics toned well to the narrative beats. The story was immersive with the cinematic qualities of a lifetime movie. The exploration of an abusive relationship was decent. The “villain monologue” at the end was one of my most liked (up until the “shift/turning point”).
But I wasn't thrilled, I was disgusted. I finished the book because it was easier than not finishing it. The romance was ick, the characters were ick and the ending was ick. There were also instances of narrative fatphobia (fatness almost always linked to disgust or disliked characters) and the discussion/mentions of race left a bad taste in my mouth. ”But the woman standing in front of him is black, her skin the color of coffee with a few drops of cream,” is used as a description. I'm a black woman and that was a personal no for me. The story felt riddled with things like internalized misogyny because, for some reason, we are trying to justify why Geo deserved this and Angela deserved that and trauma porn. While it isn't exploitative, why is the reader subjected to three on-page rape scenes? Why is it one thing after another happening to Geo? And this also brings me back to the plot. It's a thriller. You would think the plot is the biggest part but that would mean the prison sequences were pointless. I get the characters needing to be humanized and solid but in hindsight, it was excessive. In the end, the book felt like a fluke. A plot so predictable it was annoying and this is coming from someone who likes linear stories (and spoilers and seeing right through stories — give me a plot, 50 or 60% in I know how it ends, how the puzzle fits). The story was not predictable in a fun way but rather in an I-can't-wait-to-be-finished-with-this-mess way. A book that might as well have been a novella. The story was a good in-between to kick me out of a slump but extremely disturbing. I spent most of the novel horrified but bemused. The novel had a tacky quality that caused me to inappropriately laugh at times. There were quite a few grammar errors as well but I wasn't too distracted by them.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Vomit
Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident, Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pedophilia, and Gun violence
The book has three on-page rape scenes (chapters 4, 22 & 24) and an on-page attempted rape (forcible incest, chapter 32 and 33). Forced institutionalization refers to the fmc's time in jail; there is no admittance to any facility based on psychiatry in the novel. Injury/injury detail refers to aspects of the murders (not considered torture since they are not prolonged) and a victim's loved one's anxious and intense fingernail biting. There is only one instance of gun usage, at the book's end, but there are a few mentions of the weapon weaved throughout the book.katybugggg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Incest, Pregnancy, Violence, Vomit, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Bullying, Body horror, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Gaslighting, Blood, Body shaming, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Car accident, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Abandonment
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
WARNING: HELLA SPOILERS AHEAD
I did have issues with this one though, which what holds me back from giving it a perfect rating. I don't know if this is something that runs through all of JH's work, but there was so much fatphobia. Now, if the characters were just fatphobic, that would be one thing. Characters aren't perfect and they shouldn't be. Things like Angela saying "your thighs are getting fat" did not bother me because that felt like something that character would say - she's a teenage girl in the year 2000 when diet culture is thriving, of course she would say that. What I had a problem with was when characters in the narrative were endlessly described as these fat, disgusting creatures. There is a character in the beginning of the book, Bernadette/Bernie who is in prison with Georgina (Geo) our protagonist, she is framed as an antagonist and does undeniably terrible things to Geo, including literally raping her, and instead of her horrible traits being focused on...the narrative chooses to focus on how fat the character is. It's....gross. It was really distracting for me.
This leads me into my next problem - queer characters or characters who might be queer are framed in such a negative light throughout this whole book. There is Bernie, who is predatory and a prison rapist (which is not to say that lgbt+ people can't be rapists, but this isn't the kind of representation I want to see, there are enough people calling this community rapists, thanks). There is also another character who goes to high school with Geo and Angela who is a football player. I can't remember his name, but anyway, he might be gay, and in order to keep himself from being suspected as gay, he says really disgusting stuff about having sex with Angela after she disappears, framing the one gay character who could possibly have a decent arc into a pretty terrible person...?
So, while I did really enjoy this, I believe that I have valid criticisms here and I really hope that these things aren't a common theme throughout JH's work because I really do like her writing. I'll give her another chance.
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Body horror, Fatphobia, Murder, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Blood, Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexual content, Cancer, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Gun violence
Moderate: Racism and Classism