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spaghettii's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
as an avid nerd of the classics and dabbles into what defines the monstrous, this book borrows from so much of these classic authors and hallmark texts and really extracts the themes that make them work (i.e. religion, alienation, body horror, gender constructions, growing up, sexuality, the transcendental spaces of the woods and water, even down to the classic 'haunted house' trope, and so much more) while also developing an entirely unique product in the end that makes me happy i decided to pick up this horror book (as someone who doesn't really read horror) and makes me even more excited to see both what ward and other contemporary horror writers will do in the future. highly recommend!
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming
retrogirl20's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
cady_sass's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
After reading more reviews from people i follow, it seems like it is widely agreed that going in blind was definitely best, and i agree, and that most of the 5 star reviews I see are upon SECOND read. Which makes a lot of sense. I would probably give this 3.75… it is REALLY hard to talk about this without spoilers. Up until the last few chapters, I had some serious qualms with the representation here and how it could be damaging. I fear that because of the way it’s written, this could be triggering and people would not understand the full story or even finish it, so even though I can retract my claws (pun intended) I think the damage can still be done. I will attempt a second read at some point and see if my feelings change.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
mlewis's review against another edition
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Self harm, and Vomit
Minor: Fatphobia and Classism
cjxx26's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Mental illness, Suicide, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Blood
nataliereadz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Abandonment
klitanightfuryreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It was a rollercoaster that I didn’t want to end, I could easily read a second book about it. I thought I had it figured it out at first, then changed my mind, then everything was upside down and then everything made sense…
I may come back and write a more detailed reviewed later but right now I’m still processing and enjoying what happened…
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
sorcha_rosa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Stalking, and Death of parent