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mcfrosty's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Alcohol
amarainfaeland's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Car accident, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
nicrose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
meg1241's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Classism
laurenmoragn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse and Murder
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
2.5
"When you eliminate the impossible, all that remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
I had a fantastic time reading this author's debut back when I read it in 2017, and I've been looking forward to read more of his writing ever since. I'm still not sure why it took me over two years to finally get to his second book Hidden Pictures... The blurb made it sound like a fitting read for Halloween month, and it was the perfect excuse to finally pick it up. Things started out well enough and I was really enjoying my time with this book despite some red flags. Sadly, the plot made a drastic turn around the 70-80% mark that completely ruined the story for me. Not only were the twists absolutely ridiculous, but they also left me with a bad taste in my mouth and the main gender-related twist was borderline offensive. Transphobia, racism, discrimination against atheists, fatphobia... This story seemed to have a particular right-wing political agenda, and this not only made me dislike certain characters but also ruined the reading experience for me. It's such a shame, because the premise itself is fantastic and I can't deny that I was really enjoying myself during most of the book despite the previously mentioned red flags present throughout the story. I also loved the illustrations, which really complemented the plot... I gave Hidden Pictures an extra star for them, but the rest pretty much ended in a trainwreck. I do hope his newest story has less of a political angle, because I will probably have to give up his writing otherwise.
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infertility, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
frankiegg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Addiction and Transphobia
Moderate: Child abuse and Deadnaming
dcnireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
the epilogue revealing that it was mallory writing the whole story from her own point of view as a way to help flora understand what happened to her was a clever, clever move. that one line about mallory mentioning that she found it hard to write everything until sofia advised her to just write like herself instead of trying to write like an experienced author? honestly genius. whether or not it was done on purpose to disguise the basic writing and narration style, it still worked for me. this was initally looking like a good 4-4.5 read, but to be honest that onemove really impressed me. so did that teddy/flora plot twist and red herring that is annie barrett's ghost story. in conclusion, i think this is worthy of being a good ole 5 star read after all.
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Drug use and Grief
denisejochems's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
brookey8888'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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting