Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

8 reviews

sammy357's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny and Violence

Minor: Pedophilia

add_a_little_spook's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

hellokatya's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.5

i wanted to like this book; i went in so excited but it really just fell flat. i had read in someone else’s review about the blog posts being out of place, and considering there wasn’t much done with them — and it spoiled the biggest twist — i am also not a fan. i feel like the story being told on chronological order, through the unreliable perspective of an 8 year old would’ve served the book a lot better. saddened to see the loss of the potential it had.
 try hard to pick back up once i’d put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body horror, Vomit, and Grief

Minor: Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

ilaxaria's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Excrement

Minor: Pedophilia, Violence, and Forced institutionalization

gbyronwilliams's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, and Alcohol

alicelalicon's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Pedophilia

danidamico's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

No sé, por las reseñas impecables que había visto en internet esperaba mucho más de este libro. Me pareció un poco... aburrido? Tal vez mis expectativas eran demasiado altas, pero el desarrollo de la historia no me resultó tan terrorífico como esperaba y el giro inesperado no fue suficiente, no me sorprendió, por lo cual el final se sintió poco efectivo y como que le faltó fuerza. Otro problema que tuve fue el hecho de que no pude empatizar ni conectar con ninguno de los personajes, no me produjo nada a nivel emocional; es más, la narradora me irritaba por momentos, lo cual es raro ya que me suelen gustar los protagonistas infantiles.

La relación entre las hermanas Marjorie y Merry me hizo acordar a Siempre hemos vivido en el castillo de Shirley Jackson, una novela que disfruté muchísimo más. De hecho, el personaje de Merry es bastante similar al de Merricat escrito por Jackson, pero sin el humor seco y oscuro que le daba gracia y un toque especial. No pude evitar compararlas entre sí.

Objetivamente, no me parece un libro malo, entiendo que a la mayoría de los lectores les encantó, incluyendo a Stephen King, que lo recomendó en Twitter. Pero, desde mi punto de vista, no fue nada especial y no me produjo nada. Es posible que sea yo, que no sea culpa de Paul Tremblay, sino más bien un tema de gustos y preferencias personales. No fue un gran disgusto, pero tampoco lo disfruté, digamos que me dejó bastante indiferente.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Self harm, and Vomit

Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Pedophilia

jennastopreading's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

“Ideas. I’m possessed by ideas. Ideas that are as old as humanity, maybe older, right? Maybe those ideas were out there just floating around before us, just waiting to be thought up. Maybe we don’t think them, we pluck them out from another dimension or another mind.”

― Paul Tremblay, A Head Full of Ghosts


My book club chose this spooky read for October, and what a ride it was. I am relatively new to the horror genre, but since I’m not a sensitive reader, I had no issue jumping into the scary stuff. This book, part ghost story and part demon possession, had my mind reeling and left me thinking, “Wait, what?!” at the very end. I listened to this book on audio and also followed along reading the print when I had the time to sit down. I was engaged from beginning to end, and I give the audio a lot of credit for it! The voice actor did an excellent job.

5 things about this book (4 I loved and 1 I didn’t):

1. The storytelling. Whether or not you enjoy this kind of storyline, I think that the way it is told will absolutely captivate any reader.
2. The unreliability of the lead characters. Normally this trope can bother me, but Tremblay wrote them so they were just unreliable enough that I could still like them, but also crazy enough that I had my jaw on the floor a few times. 
3. There is one totally good, totally kind character in a supporting role. I think every book needs a character that you want to see more of because you love them so much, and this book definitely had one.
4. Loved the twisty ending. Can honestly say I never saw that coming.
5. The ending left me with a big question mark and I didn’t like that. I need more closure!

Overall, I think this book was a solid spooky read that is not for the faint of heart. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Self harm, Excrement, and Vomit

Minor: Pedophilia

Content warnings (containing mild spoilers)

descriptions of vomiting, urination and defecation moderate profanity mention of child molestation exorcism potential schizophrenia/demon possession