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throwback682's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
Casual usage of a slur for Romani people, as a synonym for “shortchanged”disguisedposer's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
alexandraloveee's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
erica_reads_things's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Drug use, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy
lilifane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I like it when the Horror is a little bit more subtle, when the focus is on a character study, when your imagination scares you more than what's actually on page, when you don't know if the explanation is supernatural or not. And I think this book does this beautifully for the most part.
So, 25 years ago, a man murdered his whole family and only the 18 months old daughter survived. She was raised by her aunt and in the present she is in a serious relationship and in search for a house to move into with her boyfriend. That's when she discovers her old family home is up for sale. So she moves in to reconnect to the part of her life, she can't really remember, but that's haunted her all her life. From then on, spooky things start to happen, while she also discovers that what she knew about the tragedy of the past, might not be the whole story.
I loved Dixie's narrative voice. She's not always the most likable character, in fact she makes some questionable decisions. But I still couldn't help but root for her. The humor is amazing. The choice of words, the word plays, I loved it. At the same time, the spooky scenes are actually spooky. I think the author does a great job of creating the mysterious and creepy atmosphere of a haunted murder house without making it too over the top. And the way Dixie describes her fears is SO relatable. I've never read from a point of view that described so well how I feel when I'm alone after watching/reading something spooky. Intrusive thoughts that one is not alone, while at the same time making fun of oneself for having these thoughts. I loved this!
There are some scenes that have a little too much violence, blood and gore for my usual taste, but somehow those worked really well for me here. I also like that there is a mystery aspect to the story, even if it's pretty obvious. I still think it's crafted well and you kind of start to question everything the more unhinged the protagonist gets, to be honest.
Towards the end there were a little too many things happening all at once, so you couldn't really appreciate most of them, especially some of the more emotional revelations that were just glossed over. And I didn't like the showdown, I think it was too long. I liked the ending, though.
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail