Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

18 reviews

melcarstairs'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? It's complicated

5.0

Menuda maravilla de libro.   

Este género de libro no suele ser mi favorito y aunque he leído pocos libros de este estilo tengo que decir que este es el mejor thriller que he leído en mi vida.   
No espero que esté libro me fuera a gustar tanto pero así ha sido.  

Ni siquiera conocía este libro. Lo he leído gracias a una recomendación de tick tock y gracias a que le di una oportunidad me encontré con esta maravilla.   

He sentido muchas cosas al leer este libro: tensión, angustia, tristeza, enfado, enternecimiento, frustración... Pero sobretodo he sentido que de un momento a otro me iba a explotar la cabeza.   

Muchos sentimientos pero sobretodo es lo que os digo, sentí que de un momento a otro me iba a volver loca.   

Eso sí, tengo que anuncios que no voy a poder ser muy detallados en esta reseña. Hacerlo implicaría soltaros muchos spoilers y creedme: como mejor se disfruta de este libro es sabiendo los mínimos detalles.   

Lo primero que tengo que decir es que me ha gustado la pluma de la autora. Hace que te metas muy fácilmente en la ambientación de la historia y hace que te puedas enganchar fácilmente. Consigue ese ambiente de terror gótico que hace que te quedes enganchada a la historia.  

Ha habido momentos en los que he tenido que hacer alguna que otra pausa en la lectura porque o bien la intensidad era demasiado alta o bien estaba intentando procesar todo lo que estaba pasando (que no era poco precisamente)  

Una cosa que me ha gustado bastante del libro es que los capítulos son cortos y eso hace que la lectura sea más ligera y puedas leer más rápido, cosa que agradezco.   

Este libro está escrito en tres puntos de vista diferentes:   

Ted, Olivia (la gata de Ted) y Dee (la hermana de la niña desaparecida en el lago). De los puntos de vista me han sorprendido varias cosas:  

1. Me ha llamado la atención que la gata tiene punto de vista. No me lo esperaba y me ha parecido de lo más interesante.  

2. Que el único punto de vista en tercera persona sea el de Dee; Tengo que admitir que eso ha sido un poco raro pero aún así en cierta parte tiene sentido (cuando leáis el libro sabréis porque)   

A la hora de leer este libro es importante estar atento prácticamente a cualquier detalle que pase porque es importante. Así que os recomiendo estar bastante atentos. Yo he prestado bastante atención y me ha servido. Me encanta este tipo de libros. Se nota que la autora lo ha escrito con mucho mimo y cuidando del más mínimo detalle.   

No es que me haya dado miedo, peros si que lo he pasado mal en algunos momentos. Más que miedo diría que ha pasado mucha angustia y demasiada tensión. Así que en ese sentido la autora ha sabido mantener el ambiente.  

Si puedo sacar algo en claro de esta novela es que nada es lo que parece. 
Yo tenía una idea y más o menos estaba empezando a saber por dónde iba a tirar el libro pero de repente todo se dio la vuelta y todas las teorías y notas que tenía al respecto se fueron al garete. Y aunque en parte ha sido culpa mía por no firme de mi instinto y dejar escapar algún que otro detalle del libro... Ese giro tan inesperado me ha parecido una maravilla y me ha dejado con la boca abierta.    
El libro en general está lleno de giros argumentales que me han sorprendido mucho (cosa que es muy difícil porque soy bastante intuitiva) y es una cosa que me ha encantado.   

Mis personajes favoritos sin lugar a dudas son

Ted y Rob. En especial Ted porque me ha llamado la atención desde casi el principio de la novela y además es un personaje que me ha enternecido y se ha colado en mi corazoncito; Rob también me ha gustado mucho a pesar de que solo es un personaje secundario y apenas sale. Pero el poco protagonismo que me tiene ha gustado

   

El final me ha gustado. Está a la altura de toda la novela.    

Este libro se va directamente a las mejores lecturas que he hecho del 2024.    

Y no tengo nada más que decir. Nos vemos en la siguiente reseña. Saludos 🎃

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Kidnapping

bail33's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holy shit? Not much to say other than I've never read a book like this before. This was a rollercoaster of emotions and if nothing else, this book is extremely effective at getting you to feel such a wide range of emotions. Not much you really can say without spoiling it. I'll genuinely be thinking about this for the rest of my life. Soooo many TWs though, take a look if you're triggered (even a little bit) by anything.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Alcohol

spaghettii's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

Somewhat predictable, did not love the mental health as a plot device but I think it was done with good intentions

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Content Warnings

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

pvp_niki's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Body shaming and Homophobia

thewordapothecary's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A rollercoaster for sure. There were multiple times I swore I had it all figured out. And I guess in a way I did, but not fully. There are so many ups and downs with the characters, you love them and think they’re good and then the next you hate them and think they’re the bad guy.

Not a challenging read, but you do have to get used to how Ted speaks. Once you do though, it’s a very fast read. 

Really dark, but so good and I can tell it was well researched. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

melliedm's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Vomit, and Abandonment

lilias's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I absolutely hated the first 50 or so pages of this book, and I almost quit reading it, which I almost never do. But somewhere around that 50th page, I started to want to know what was going to happen and how it would unfold. Then, maybe 50 pages after that, I realized I did not want to stop reading and that I would finish this book before the day was over. 

The first 50 or so pages of this book just seemed full of misplaced whimsy and weirdness. I don’t like it when something, a book or a film, goes out of its way to be weird just for the sake of being weird. But nothing grabs my attention like a mystery. And when little reveals started to peel away the silly veneer that was, when it came down to it, author Catronia Ward speaking in (infuriating) riddles, I was hooked. I wish I had been so invested in the entire book, but, still, this was a really good reading experience for me, overall.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

killmoore_'s review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm without words.

Best book I have read all year, and in the top 5 for all time. I cannot express how much I loved this book. 

It will make you feel all the things, drop you on your skull and do it all over again. 10/10 will be recommending to anyone who enjoys the genre.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

wow. just wow. going into this book blind, i was in for a whirlwind. i thought i knew what the twist would be, and to some extent i was correct, but i was proven wrong again and again. ward has an absolutely brilliant way of stringing the story along and tying together all lose ends in ways that are partly scary, partly going to make you feel weird, but are ways that are complex and imaginative. but most of all, ward details this book in a way that is simply there, right before our very eyes from the beginning that makes it incredibly unique while also functioning on one of the most basic aspects of the horror classics that makes it so moving and just downright incredible. the afterward is incredibly powerful and, to some extent, left me very emotional (granted, i get emotional pretty easily, so that might not have been her intention). the twists and turns in the book will challenge everything you know about the story and it's overall message in ways that will forever remain impactful.

the one thing i really want to flag for those who have read the book is that i think ward put so much time into researching the effects of DID in ways that must be praised and celebrated. she took so much care into not making this one of those classic horror stories that come off offensive to actually craft a narrative that everyone can relate to at it's basic level: though we all seemingly strive for the good, sometimes the path of memory, acceptance, and forgiveness does not look linear for all, and that sometimes the very key to forgive ourselves and begin to live life and survive again looks like doing just that again and again and learning to celebrate and be angry at sometimes and just lean in. and that is perhaps the most beautiful message to put in a horror book especially.

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!

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Content Warnings

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

suicide and suicide attempt

linlinlin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A classic style, modern American horror/thriller novel that I almost put down in disgust at the first big twist. Keep reading though! (unless you're the kind of person who should probably avoid the horror section altogether) This is so cleverly written and had me flipping back and forth to figure things out; probably deserves to be read at least twice. 

I have a loved one with DID so I was FURIOUS at the plot twist, ra ra I'm so sick of horror writers depicting mentally ill people as serial killers and villains etc when they're subject to so much violence. I'm really glad I stuck with it. My loved one didn't read it so I don't know what the DID perspective on it is, but I was really pleasantly surprised by the happy ending for Ted and the efforts to depict DID reasonably and accurately by Ward. A lot of the contents around DID was stuff I already knew but worth reading if you don't.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, and Torture

Moderate: Body shaming, Blood, and Abandonment

Minor: Homophobia and Suicide attempt

The content warnings are gnarly but there's a lot of context for most of the worst of it that ameliorates it