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snsdpop's review against another edition
Graphic: Drug use, Racism, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry
mj_86'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Drug use, and Kidnapping
Minor: Infertility, Racism, and Car accident
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
cassidy_rain's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Okay, I had some theories but I did NOT see that coming. What a perfect, spooky fall read! Hidden Pictures is a paranormal mystery. It follows Mallory, she’s working on getting her life back together and maintaining her sobriety when she has the opportunity to become a nanny for one child, Teddy, for the summer before he goes off to school. The family seems super empathic to her situation and she gets along great with Teddy so she’s hired right away. Things get interesting when Teddy starts mentioning his imaginary friend and drawing some strange and disturbing pictures. Is he just a child with a busy imagination or is something more sinister going on?
This story grabbed my attention from the first pages and I flew through it in nearly one sitting. The characters and storyline are so good! Mallory is flawed but I loved her as a character and was rooting for her so deeply. You can feel her frustration through the pages as she tries to uncover the mystery. I also adored Adrian and the fact that she has somebody on her side. Teddy is also a great character and the addition of his actual drawings is SO fun and immersive, like you’re helping solve the mystery. At first glance this feels kind of predictable; I thought I had everything figured out about the 50% mark and was sorely mistaken. There’s a lot of paranormal elements, which isn’t always my thing, but I think it’s done in a way that feels very realistic (rather than in a horror way). Highly recommend!
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Blood, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting
Minor: Child death, Gun violence, Infertility, Racism, and Car accident
lulibooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infertility, Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
ravensalwaysreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
Moderate: Addiction, Fatphobia, Racism, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
mapofthesoul's review against another edition
- 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
1.0
Minor: Drug abuse, Racism, Transphobia, and Trafficking
joxinabox's review against another edition
Graphic: Fatphobia, Racism, Transphobia, and Xenophobia
All tags above are explicit and are outright condoned by the text. A racist character is treated as a quirky cat lady and [spoilers but not that you should care]lauren_cox98'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
4.5
Graphic: Drug abuse
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Racism
nrogers_1030's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Infertility, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, and Alcohol