Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

31 reviews

seawarrior's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The strongest merit of Imaginary Friend is how it remains equally engaging page after page, which was a relief, since there are nearly a thousand of them. Chbosky's effort developing his characters is a key factor in the story's power. Lore wise, I was somewhat disappointed once all secrets were revealed, yet I was still satisfied reading Christopher and Kate's fight against evil. 

It's difficult for me to gather much more to say about the book since it's so expansive, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to others. I did think the horror was written well, but the true source of it felt trite to me and I'd really been expecting something more original. If you do read it please review the list of content warnings, which is nearly as long as the book itself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

mydearwatsonbooks's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Vomit

kait_sixcrowsbooks's review

Ya know, for the most part I was really getting into the book — I thought the premise was really interesting, and I liked the characters well enough (except for the entire subplot/premise that the MC’s dyslexia is magically cured and now he’s “””smart”””, and the ableism surrounding Ed and his “nickname”).

However, about 40-45% of the way through I was starting to get a bad feeling about the different allegories, so I decided to look up spoilers, and I ended up being right. If you’re wanting to read this book for spoopy horror, and not some weird Christian “good vs evil” tripe, look elsewhere. If I knew what I was getting into beforehand, I would’ve steered clear of this one.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Dementia

zhowsare's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Sexual content, Suicide, and Car accident

smolkeri's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Medical content, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Abortion, and Murder

Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Misogyny, and Kidnapping

justacowboy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I honestly loved this book. It turned out if be a whole lot more religious than what I expected. But I could look past it because by the time I realized it. I was already too invested to stop reading, so it was fairly easy just to accept that. This book feels like an R. L. Stine book for adults. As someone who grew up reading Goosebumps and Fear Street, this book really did scratch all the right spots for me. With a much more gore-filled vibe to it. It reads like a Goosebumps book, but for adults.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Gore

Minor: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

camillesuzannes's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Pedophilia, Slavery, and Vomit

sararainsberry's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Car accident, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, and Death of parent

maddireads13's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion

sunnysoprano's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Suicide, Torture, Blood, and Car accident

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Dementia