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madhunts's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
downtown_kb's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
- 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
1.0
Welp time for another 1 star review, which I only do when a book is problematic.
This review is going to have spoilers but will be marked down below.
Mallory is a recovering addict who lands a great job as a summer live in nanny with the Maxwells. Teddy is a shy kid who loves to draw and has an imaginary friend. However, when Teddy's pictures start to get more and more strange, Mallory starts to suspect there might be more to this imaginary friend.
I went into this blind bc it was a thriller and I didn't want spoilers. (Never again)
I mean, a goodreads choice winner should be a good sign, right? I'm going to have trust issues.
This started out good. Straightforward writing which made it fast paced. Several strange interactions that added to the air of mystery. Some solid red herrings to wonder on. It was a bit preachy for sure. But I thought it was subtle enough most of the time that it was there to add tension, right? Silly me.
The big twist happens at about 75% and this all went to hell. I MEAN WTF. REALLY?
Spoilers below.....
Turns out the kid was kidnapped by the Maxwells and in order to keep the crime a secret they <i>forced this little girl to be a boy</i>. PEOPLE that's not how it works. The kid is 5, you can't make them pretend to be a boy when they are a girl. It makes the whole thing sounds even more preachy and it's harmful. If the author didn't intend this (and I did some looking, the internet says he supports trans rights) and they think this is a fun twist then they are writing from an extremely naive and harmful mindset and SHOULD NOT. I could see how the kid was starting to cause some suspicion too because of this "act" but man, you should have leaned into it. Instead its very subtle and so it comes across as transphobic. The real kicker is this "plot point" was completely unnecessary for the same damn twists to occur.
Anyway, the ending continues to go off the rails but I was just so frustrated by that point I don't even think it was any good.
This review is going to have spoilers but will be marked down below.
Mallory is a recovering addict who lands a great job as a summer live in nanny with the Maxwells. Teddy is a shy kid who loves to draw and has an imaginary friend. However, when Teddy's pictures start to get more and more strange, Mallory starts to suspect there might be more to this imaginary friend.
I went into this blind bc it was a thriller and I didn't want spoilers. (Never again)
I mean, a goodreads choice winner should be a good sign, right? I'm going to have trust issues.
This started out good. Straightforward writing which made it fast paced. Several strange interactions that added to the air of mystery. Some solid red herrings to wonder on. It was a bit preachy for sure. But I thought it was subtle enough most of the time that it was there to add tension, right? Silly me.
The big twist happens at about 75% and this all went to hell. I MEAN WTF. REALLY?
Spoilers below.....
Turns out the kid was kidnapped by the Maxwells and in order to keep the crime a secret they <i>forced this little girl to be a boy</i>. PEOPLE that's not how it works. The kid is 5, you can't make them pretend to be a boy when they are a girl. It makes the whole thing sounds even more preachy and it's harmful. If the author didn't intend this (and I did some looking, the internet says he supports trans rights) and they think this is a fun twist then they are writing from an extremely naive and harmful mindset and SHOULD NOT. I could see how the kid was starting to cause some suspicion too because of this "act" but man, you should have leaned into it. Instead its very subtle and so it comes across as transphobic. The real kicker is this "plot point" was completely unnecessary for the same damn twists to occur.
Anyway, the ending continues to go off the rails but I was just so frustrated by that point I don't even think it was any good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
snsdpop's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Racism, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry
miamuller's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Transphobia, Murder, and Sexual harassment
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
2.5
Finished reading: October 29th 2024
"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.
Content Warnings
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
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Transphobia
Moderate: Child abuse and Deadnaming
ravensalwaysreading's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
Too many plotholes and strange character interactions. What idiot tells a pair of murderers that she knew they had murdered? The main character was incredibly shallow from a writing aspect and as a person. Manic pixie dream girl except a vapid Christian version.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Fatphobia, Racism, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
bones008's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Infertility, Transphobia, Dementia, Kidnapping, and Stalking
tomesandtash's review against another edition
NO SPOILER TAG USED BECAUSE YOU SHOULDN’T BOTHER READING THIS BOOK.
I’m so glad I can rate this book 0 stars because it’s the closest I can get to a negative. I feel intensely betrayed by this story and I’m left feeling disgusted that I even read the whole thing.
It’s hotly debated on whether this book is transphobic or not but from where I’m standing it absolutely is. It’s full of conservative dog-whistles and propaganda that honestly feels over the top and ridiculous when you put it all together.
I initially was pleasantly surprised at having a Christian main character portrayed in a positive way as it’s not something I come across often. I’m an atheist, myself, but I do find that religious characters are typically portrayed negatively in the media for little to no reason. Setting aside that Mallory was an awful nanny to the child in her care, she stood primarily to be the good Christian woman standing against the evil atheist parents. It was a very ‘us vs them’ portrayal with her being looked down on multiple times for her religious beliefs.
The parents were clearly evil and bad because they were liberal. That’s how the book chooses to present them. The author makes it seem like them wanting no religion discussed in the house is such an awful thing, when surely if a Christian household hired a nanny, that nanny would be expected to teach the kids in the ways of their parent’s religion. The very notion that a parent would try and teach their five year old about cunnilingus and anal sex because they’ve began asking about genitals is ridiculous but is also a genuine argument that right-wing people use against the left. Believe it or not, the left aren’t introducing sex acts to children FULL STOP.
Let’s talk about the transphobia. Similarly to the above, there is a widely held belief among the far right that left leaning parents are all out to force their children to transition and identify with the other gender. This book plays into that stereotype and it did not need to. The story could have been effectively the same without that bullshit being added to the mix. I know the kid was never trans in the first place but that’s not the point. The author clearly had an agenda when writing this book and that couldn’t be made more clear than through the multiple positive mentions of J K Rowling throughout. You can’t tell me that feeding into a harmful and untrue stereotype about the left WHILE basically saying JKR is the best writer to have ever existed isn’t a coincidence. There was no need for her name to be mentioned except as a nod to the author’s transphobic inner circle so they could all have a giggle.
Besides this, the book is lazy and poorly written. The dad is creepy because these types of books have to have a creepy dad - a plot thread which is irrelevant and goes nowhere. The whole opening chapter about the medical experiment that we’re unsure if it did or didn’t happen - also has no meaning or relevance to the plot. The paranormal aspects where interesting and the book is functional to a point where I read the whole thing quite quickly, but when you look back and notice all the red flags, there’s too many to deny.
I’m so glad I can rate this book 0 stars because it’s the closest I can get to a negative. I feel intensely betrayed by this story and I’m left feeling disgusted that I even read the whole thing.
It’s hotly debated on whether this book is transphobic or not but from where I’m standing it absolutely is. It’s full of conservative dog-whistles and propaganda that honestly feels over the top and ridiculous when you put it all together.
I initially was pleasantly surprised at having a Christian main character portrayed in a positive way as it’s not something I come across often. I’m an atheist, myself, but I do find that religious characters are typically portrayed negatively in the media for little to no reason. Setting aside that Mallory was an awful nanny to the child in her care, she stood primarily to be the good Christian woman standing against the evil atheist parents. It was a very ‘us vs them’ portrayal with her being looked down on multiple times for her religious beliefs.
The parents were clearly evil and bad because they were liberal. That’s how the book chooses to present them. The author makes it seem like them wanting no religion discussed in the house is such an awful thing, when surely if a Christian household hired a nanny, that nanny would be expected to teach the kids in the ways of their parent’s religion. The very notion that a parent would try and teach their five year old about cunnilingus and anal sex because they’ve began asking about genitals is ridiculous but is also a genuine argument that right-wing people use against the left. Believe it or not, the left aren’t introducing sex acts to children FULL STOP.
Let’s talk about the transphobia. Similarly to the above, there is a widely held belief among the far right that left leaning parents are all out to force their children to transition and identify with the other gender. This book plays into that stereotype and it did not need to. The story could have been effectively the same without that bullshit being added to the mix. I know the kid was never trans in the first place but that’s not the point. The author clearly had an agenda when writing this book and that couldn’t be made more clear than through the multiple positive mentions of J K Rowling throughout. You can’t tell me that feeding into a harmful and untrue stereotype about the left WHILE basically saying JKR is the best writer to have ever existed isn’t a coincidence. There was no need for her name to be mentioned except as a nod to the author’s transphobic inner circle so they could all have a giggle.
Besides this, the book is lazy and poorly written. The dad is creepy because these types of books have to have a creepy dad - a plot thread which is irrelevant and goes nowhere. The whole opening chapter about the medical experiment that we’re unsure if it did or didn’t happen - also has no meaning or relevance to the plot. The paranormal aspects where interesting and the book is functional to a point where I read the whole thing quite quickly, but when you look back and notice all the red flags, there’s too many to deny.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia