Scan barcode
mechtimber's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Self harm, and Vomit
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, and Excrement
destinyshadey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- 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, and Gore
Moderate: Cursing and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Bullying
autumnrevisited's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Self harm, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Cursing, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content and Torture
spellboundreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
If you are on the hunt for a tense and morbid book to read - look no further. Lord of the Flies meets your most disgusting nightmares. I devoured this in a day because I NEEDED answers. This book was worth the heebie-jeebies!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Murder
poop_scoop'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, and Fatphobia
j_m_alexander's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
Body horror, animal harm, and overly descriptive scenes written with the explicit intention of raising the bile straight up your gullet. Can't say the writing is itself is bad exactly, so thus not a 1-star, but oof I REALLY did NOT like this book. This is a straight up book of grotesqueries that tries to toy with ideas of psychological terror, that I just didn't find successful within the context of the relentless squelching bodily fluid wallowing imagery. The premise is what drew me in, but after a while it seemed like the boys slid back into caricatures (it's like Cutter said "have your read The Body or Lord of the Flies, and/or seen the respective movies? -- it's pretty much some of those kids with a touch of a more youthful and messier American Psycho") and the order of operations were fairly predictable I found.
In reflection I recognize that what I look for most from horror these days is building tension and I am not as big of a fan of overt body horror, so this is maybe just the opposite of my current preferences. I have specifically identified that possession stories are something I am just NOT into, and really this is a possession story, a different take on possession, but possession none-the-less. Intermittently Cutter broke in with after-the-fact reports and testimonies, he mentioned being inspired by Carrie, and I can't decide if these helped or hurt the book; often they worked as a pallet cleansers from all the revulsion by inserting plain reportage, but they also depleted momentum... not sure if the trade off was worth it. I did find myself wanting to stop at points so maybe I would have made this a rare DNF if not for those breaks in the story, but then again maybe I would have sped through it instead of the stopping and starting as I ended up doing, making the choppiness even more pronounced.
Carrie apparently was an inspiration of sorts, but that book was punchier and King managed development with economy, while this book seemed sickeningly bloated, squishy, and somewhat flat. The more direct King comparison to make would be Dreamcatcher, which was also not my cup of tea, but in hindsight (and comparatively) is not so bad, certainly I think it's a better take on the basic premise of this other type of possession in the context of a group of friends in a secluded setting.
If you like detailed descriptions of slow horrific death and have a strong stomach (or enjoy the sensation of wanting to toss your cookies), then maybe this is a good book for you! Not a good book for me as it turns out.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Violence
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
voxlunae'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Gore, Self harm, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Cannibalism, and Abandonment
greendaynerd'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, and Blood
rosaelia'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I dropped (not DNF'd; I'll pick it back up eventually) Cows for this one. And boy oh boy, am I glad that I did.
I grew to love
The ending was somewhat confusing, though?
Anyway, it was a fabulous read! Sort of a slow start once it focuses on the boys, but it was very worth it.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Cursing and Vomit
Minor: Excrement and Alcohol
silverwings95'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? No
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol