Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

16 reviews

jaedia's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

 This felt more like a contemporary fantasy thriller with horror elements than horror. I went in expecting a haunted house horror and felt a little thrown off by what I got, as such... I think my expectations clouded my overall enjoyment of the book and around about 70% it started feeling off for me.

Still, there were some great moments and Chuck is definitely a great writer. If you go into this one, just drop any expectations you have. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, Gore, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Child death, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Grief, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Torture, and Drug use

annemariemulksibb'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

4.5

Even in expecting this book to be weird, I was perpetually surprised by what happened. I don't even know what else to say, but I really liked it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Murder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death

Minor: Mass/school shootings, Suicide, and Vomit

michelles_book_nook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

3.0

⚠️ CW: death, murder, child abuse, domestic violence, alcoholism, cannibalism, suicide, brief mentions of school shootings and sexual abuse ⚠️ Well this book was definitely one that flipped my brain upside down and inside out. This book follows the Graves family and their return to Nate's rural childhood home in Pennsylvania upon the death of his father who left him the house in his will. Now married to his wife, Maddie, along with their son, Oliver, all they want is some peace from city living but as they return their dark pasts come back to haunt them as supernatural happenings start taking place and a sinister battle of good versus evil comes knocking at their door. This book was a good read that makes you question all of the little things that happen in your life as it takes you on a sci-fi/occult twisting journey throughout generations and timelines in a mind melting rollercoaster ride, but it is so hard to review without giving spoilers. While the plot of this book was really interesting I struggled to follow it at times because there was just so much going on. Also throughout I found the pacing was quite off and went from being fast and page turning to slow and drawn out and due to this I think it made the end feel really rushed. Overall, I enjoyed this read and if you're looking for a intensely deep, twisting and terrifying horror then I definitely recommend picking up this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Suicide, Murder, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Mass/school shootings and Sexual assault

mburnsides's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Mass/school shootings, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence and Death

ten_telegrams's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Drug use, and Vomit

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Cancer, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Child death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

louisegraveyard's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Animal death, and Mass/school shootings

kimberlyswalters's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful fast-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

4.75

I did really enjoy this book, but I did feel that it was a tad predictable (which sounds like a lie because this story was off the rails, but some plot twists weren't so twisty). I did love all of the characters and that they cursed and thought things through pretty rationally. For such a wild ride, the characters felt grounded in reality and it made the story much more enjoyable. It was a good read and I'd definitely recommend it to a friend if I had any that read. 

My least favorite thing about this book was that it ended too happily. I don't like when books dangle so much doom and gloom in my face, but then everything turns out pretty okay. I am glad that Fig was okay though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide, Car accident, Cancer, Drug use, Police brutality, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, and Child death

Minor: Fatphobia, Dementia, and Excrement

archaicrobin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

3.0

I started this novel thinking it was going to be a typical supernatural haunted house tale and quickly found out that was not the case! The Book of Accidents is a horror/sciFi novel that touches on generational trauma, abuse, alternate realities, time travel, and what makes strong families. So way more than I was initially prepared for! 

This novel is not your regular horror story and I loved that. It was weird, twisty, and honestly such a fun read. There were parts that dragged for me and the characters at times behaved really awkwardly (especially Maddie, who seems like the perfect manic pixie dream girl grown up…) which didn’t make this a 5 star for me, hence the 3 stars. I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone either, but to readers that love horror and don’t mind picking up one that crosses so many genres. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

mrdcoolblue's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This starts out as the atmospheric spooky tale you expected, but not all is what it seems. The story quickly turns into a horror thriller fantasy as this family must rely on their love and support of each other as they battle against the looming apocalypse. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Grief, and Mass/school shootings