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bookish_kirst's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Set in Australia, we follow heavily pregnant Alice and her partner Pete as they move out of the busy city to a small town in the mountains for a fresh start. Alice is plagued with anxiety over toxins, wildfires and the new disease Cutis that is quickly spreading and makes excess skin grow over people's orifices, effectively sealing them in their bodies and causing some gruesome deaths.
A very quick read, I managed to finish it in 2 sittings. Not much happens in the first 3 quarters, we basically just get to know Alice and Pete and watch how Alice's anxiety and obsessiveness over Cutis effects their daily lives. The last quarter is when things really start happening but at the same time it wasn't quite enough, I wanted more. More gruesomeness, more details on Cutis, just more.
I normally hate books that just end without any closure or anything, but for this book it kind of made sense. I would have loved to have read more about how Alice is going to deal with everything that happened.
A very quick read, I managed to finish it in 2 sittings. Not much happens in the first 3 quarters, we basically just get to know Alice and Pete and watch how Alice's anxiety and obsessiveness over Cutis effects their daily lives. The last quarter is when things really start happening but at the same time it wasn't quite enough, I wanted more. More gruesomeness, more details on Cutis, just more.
I normally hate books that just end without any closure or anything, but for this book it kind of made sense. I would have loved to have read more about how Alice is going to deal with everything that happened.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Pregnancy
seventhfrog's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Blood, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Racial slurs and Murder
eleri's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-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
Graphic: Blood, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death
deanis23's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
christiemackie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Confinement and Racial slurs
abbie_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Sealed is an eco-horror novel set in a near future where environmental issues have worsened dramatically and a new skin-sealing epidemic is sweeping the globe. Heavily pregnant Alice and her partner flee the city to escape the smog, with Alice also trying to leave behind her obsession with recording the pandemic.
I really do NOT recommend this book if you’re currently pregnant or are sensitive to pregnancy stuff in books. But if you love eco-horror and grisly accounts of motherhood then by all means! My face the entire book was basically 😬😦😐😶😬 This is one of those cases where ‘enjoy’ doesn’t really cut it, but I did think it was good, super visceral and playing on some of my very real fears, also further confirming that I never ever want to be pregnant.
I didn’t think the prose was as fluid as in Booth’s latest, Exit Management, but that’s forgivable since this is an earlier novel. But I also took slight issue with the setting - it was supposedly Australia but I kept forgetting until some Australian slang was thrown in again. I guess the setting isn’t too crucial, but then why bother to set it elsewhere? If environmental problems had been worsening the world over, it could have still just been set in the UK and the increased temperatures would have made sense still 🤷♀️ But I digress!
It’s a good mix of gore and commentary, but again not quite as developed as Exit Management. Booth touches on the ways crises, whether they’re medical or environmental, have a more devastating impact on poor, rural and Indigenous communities. It’s a pretty taut narrative, only 170 pages, and you’ll read the last 20 pages in one breath through gritted teeth. Recommended with caution because of the content warnings!
I really do NOT recommend this book if you’re currently pregnant or are sensitive to pregnancy stuff in books. But if you love eco-horror and grisly accounts of motherhood then by all means! My face the entire book was basically 😬😦😐😶😬 This is one of those cases where ‘enjoy’ doesn’t really cut it, but I did think it was good, super visceral and playing on some of my very real fears, also further confirming that I never ever want to be pregnant.
I didn’t think the prose was as fluid as in Booth’s latest, Exit Management, but that’s forgivable since this is an earlier novel. But I also took slight issue with the setting - it was supposedly Australia but I kept forgetting until some Australian slang was thrown in again. I guess the setting isn’t too crucial, but then why bother to set it elsewhere? If environmental problems had been worsening the world over, it could have still just been set in the UK and the increased temperatures would have made sense still 🤷♀️ But I digress!
It’s a good mix of gore and commentary, but again not quite as developed as Exit Management. Booth touches on the ways crises, whether they’re medical or environmental, have a more devastating impact on poor, rural and Indigenous communities. It’s a pretty taut narrative, only 170 pages, and you’ll read the last 20 pages in one breath through gritted teeth. Recommended with caution because of the content warnings!
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Excrement, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
Pregnancy/birthing trauma
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