Scan barcode
ohyayitsapril's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Animal death, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Death of parent, Addiction, and Animal cruelty
byo_books's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Alcoholism
faulklore's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Racism, Drug use, Alcoholism, Murder, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Suicide
thesspa's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty
bookbelle5_17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Homophobia, Bullying, Physical abuse, Self harm, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Child abuse, Murder, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, and Addiction
kermit_the_wrong's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Suicide, Child abuse, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Torture, Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Animal death, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Blood, Murder, and Death of parent
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Pedophilia, and Racism
sssmoser's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Ronald Malfi
𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬: 436
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Horror
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝:... Eh 🤷♀️
𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭: Yes, but by the thinnest of hairs
𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝: Contemporary
𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:👻👻
𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: ⭐⭐⭐
This is the fourth or fifth book I've read by Malfi, and I'm a big fan. Unfortunately this is my least favorite of his, as I never felt it got off the ground and went somewhere.
The book had a very similar vibe to two of my favorite Stephen King novels - It and Revival, but sadly the plot faltered. Jaimie is the main character and protagonist, but I found him to be the least interesting of the main four.
The friends are brought together after one of them witnesses a mysterious magician who had preyed on them as children, but besides them trying to solve that mystery, I felt like the book just kept adding more and more childhood trauma on these characters, with very little moving the plot along. Somewhere in the middle, an additional villain is added, and it just didn't work for me.
Despite it not living up to expectations and having quite a few pacing problems, there are still moments of lovely writing in here and I did really enjoy about half of it.
⭐⭐⭐
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, and Addiction
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Animal cruelty
amynoellereads's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty
bookworm4tea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Suicide, Child death, and Animal death