Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo

23 reviews

hookerkitty's review

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Physical abuse, and War

_p0ssum_'s review against another edition

4.25

Wow this is not what I expected but I definetly don't hate it. Some scenes I didn't like ( Eleanor and Arthur romance plot ) but if you read it fully and understood it makes more sense ( kinda ). 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, and Child death

Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, and War

smokeyphynix's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

crusoe's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Positives. I'm a sucker for monster stories and I know it. This might not be a 5 star for everyone but it was for me. I adore the atmosphere of the house in which the Zarrins live and how it contains these subtle hints of the family's history. I love how some of the secrets slowly unfold where others remain unanswered (such as the mystery of Eleanor's grandfather on her grandmère's side). The descriptions of Eleanor's family are deliciously grotesque. If you are expecting an Adams family dynamic you will be sorely disappointed, but I think the toxicity and brokenness of this family made the story more thrilling. It was nauseating in a good way. The Zarrins are broken, stuck in old traditions that they desperately need to burn and they have a hard time dealing with someone like Eleanor who is so very different from the rest of them, and yet unmistakably a Zarrin. I loved it.

Negatives. (Spoilers for the ending.)

Eleanor's self-pity was very justified after being treated like an outsider by her own family. But at points, this self-pity spiralled into something more malicious which made me dislike her character a bit. I also don't think Eleanor should have kissed Arthur at the end. Their romance subplot should've been resolved differently. Dating a living corpse who despises your family for keeping alive and who has also had a fling with both of your grandparents, does not sound like a very good idea. I think it would have been more interesting if Eleanor's obsession with him was due to her being a Zarrin, as was the reason behind Rhys' and Luma's obsession with Arthur. Eleanor convincing herself that she is better than Rhys and Luma because her love for Arthur is "different" as she is willing to let him go, would've been a more interesting motivation.

Quote. "The way it blew over was like this: on the day I punched her in the stomach, while she was staring at me in shock and pain, I realized that the only way to escape the trap i was in was to stop existing, to become someone else. 

So I turned myself inside out, and that was who I stayed until the day Lucy tripped me on the stairs. On that day I snapped back in midair, although my body stayed the same. There was more than one way to perform my family's trick, the inversion of selves, the different skin."

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Death, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Gore, Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Abandonment

red_king_137's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

apersonfromflorida's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, and Violence

Minor: Homophobia

sssssoup's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Homophobia, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

hngisreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Bullying

andatherrin's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body horror and Bullying

Minor: Animal death

laguerrelewis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Harry Szabo cements themself as one to watch with this killer debut. An excellent story about being an outsider, family, generational trauma, and love, this had me enthralled from beginning to end and in awe of their writing. Do yourself a favor and experience it for yourself.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicide attempt