Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

17 reviews

smexy_smerf's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

THIS- I CAN'T. I NEED PART TWO  <SPOILER MF> WHAT THIS PSYCHO THIEF DO WITH HER HEAD. HER FUCKING HEAD.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Body horror, Bullying, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Murder

bexsur'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? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, Violence, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Animal death, Bullying, Dementia, Body horror, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship

wylovat's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Dementia, Car accident, Murder, Abortion, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Animal death, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide, Police brutality, Rape, and Death of parent

beckyyreadss's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

 Thank you, Michael Joseph Penguin Publishing, for sending this book in a welcome pack in exchange for an honest review. 

In 1986, Eddie and his friends are just kids on the verge of becoming teens. They spend their days biking around their sleepy English village and looking for any excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code: little chalk stick figures they leave for one another as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body of a child, and nothing is ever the same. 30 years later, Eddie is fully grown and thinks he’s put his past behind him, but then he gets a letter in the mail containing a single chalk stick figure. When it runs out that his friends got the same message, they think it could be a prank – until one of them dies. That's when Eddie realizes that saving himself means finally figuring out what really happened all those years ago. 

I really enjoyed this book – it was messy and weird, but I feel like it was the writing style. It was bizarre but it worked by the end. At the beginning, my head was completely battered. I was so confused and it sort of had to go round the bend and back again but at the end I understood the plot. Eddie is a messed-up kid and really should have gone to therapy when he was younger because the actions he took as a child and an adult were weird and messed-up. Like all those children involved are messed up and desperately need therapy. It sorts of shows that everyone is always hiding something.  

If you really want to read a messed-up book that will screw with your mind, this book is for you.   

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Abortion, and Murder

Moderate: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault

Minor: Death of parent

crustyy_rat's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Child abuse, Dementia, and Death of parent

lydiavsbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Big Stephen King/ loosers club vibes which was cool, and unique enough plot-wise to not just feel like a rip off. I really enjoyed this, it was darker than I expected, lots of messed up characters that were fun to explore.

Also some really great (tragically current) commentary on abortion, and the very real fear of alzeimer's and memory loss.

I did want it to be a lil' spookier though, I feel like it kinda sold itself as horror/thriller and the premise could have easily allowed for some more creepy elements

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Death, Child abuse, Dementia, Murder, Pedophilia, and Suicidal thoughts

megpadams's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.0

Lots of thoughts! 

Spoiler

• Wtf was that ending! I low key expected it because there were hints all the way through but it was so sudden! 
• I really wanted it to turn out to be supernatural 
• Still not entirely sure about the dreams- trauma or was Ed starting to show symptoms of dementia like his dad? 
• Did we ever find out who was murdered in the playground a few generations before?
• Was the traveller man at the fair actually the reverend? 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Animal death, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Terminal illness

anisans's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Body horror

Moderate: Suicide and Pregnancy

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Child abuse, Child death, Bullying, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abortion, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Body horror, Death of parent, Violence, Dementia, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Grief

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This book was weird in the best way. The ending creeped me out but after having read the entire book, I couldn’t even be that shocked. The story illuminates how no matter how good we try to be or claim to be, we all do bad things and some of us do more heinous things than others.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Violence