Reviews with content warning for Gore - My Sister, the Serial Killer

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

49 reviews

nindie's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense fast-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

2.75

Content Warnings

nefariousbee's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

this book could have been good if it went deeper into everyone's psyches. as it is now, it's just average which is honestly a shame. also the author seems not to realize how not good of a person the main character is which doesn't help its case

Content Warnings

abitbetterbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

Listened to this in one sitting today during a long car ride and it was the perfect thing to keep me entertained! Fast-paced, disturbing, oddly funny, and absolutely fascinating characters make this an incredible read. I love the way this story was woven together with threads from the past and present, and illustrated the reality of hard decisions, family bonds, and what we’re willing to do for those we love.

Plus, that ending! Whew!

Content Warnings

megb64's review

Go to review page

challenging dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

magmck's review

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was so fascinating. Also, FUCK TADE.

Content Warnings

drunk_cowgirl's review

Go to review page

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.25

Okay so I read this book a couple months ago so it's not as fresh in my mind. But i actually liked this book a lot more than i initially thought i would and i definitely liked it more and more as the plot went on. i enjoy reading books about unhinged, murderous, unlikeable MAIN characters. So i was a bit hesitant going into this book since it's written from the perspective of her sister who is a goody-two-shoes and not from the perspective of the serial killer sister.

I honestly didn't love this book when i started it. I almost dnf'd it so many times. But i'm really glad i didn't, because it definitely got way better. At first, the narrator just comes off so jealous and bitter that her sister is hotter and cooler than her and how swooned after she is. She's extremely bitter about how she's had to look after her sister her whole life because she's older and clean up her messes and lives in the shadows of her younger, more conventionally attractive sister. I don't have siblings, i'm an only child, so i didn't relate to this at all and it just came off super miserable and lame how much time she spent complaining about her sister. I also just don't understand or relate to the ugly duckling trope. because of this, i wanted to put it down so bad. i was like, "damn, so your sister is hot and cool and killing wack ass abusive ass men and you're hating on her for it? that's so lame! if you're so mad about it, then just stop helping her??"

HOWEVER, i'm REALLY glad i kept reading this book, because the more the plot unfolds, you can actually see how the serial killer sister is actually a horrible person and a liar and manipulator. I was rooting for her in the beginning and then as the story went on, I definitely was not. It picked up a lot the second half of the book and i was pleasantly surprised!

this book definitely critiques family roles and sibling relationships. which wasn't something i related to but by the end of the book i definitely appreciated the insight and perspective as someone who is an only child.

I really enjoyed how this novel critiqued beauty standards and how people who are more conventionally attractive get away with a lot more. there's a quote i really liked in the book where the author says "people always conflate beauty with goodness."

i also found it interesting how we learn more about the two sisters childhood with their abusive father and emotionally neglectful mother. we get to see how both of their lives took two completely different routes due to the differences in their age even though they experienced the same trauma.

but my absolute favorite part of this book was how it was written. a lot of the chapters are simply a page or two long and they are literally poetry. i've never read a novel written like this before. as a poet myself, this was super refreshing and beautifully executed. I found myself yearning for more books written in this style.

the only reason i'm not giving it 5 stars is because it starts off kind of slow and was hard to get into and because i felt like the end didn't really have a solid conclusion. i felt like i wanted more from the ending. i'm not gonna spoil the ending but you'll see what i mean. it just kinda ended with no solid character development from anyone in the story.

Content Warnings