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anzelotte's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Dementia, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy
bigcandle's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Tudor keeps you gripped by alternating chapters between 1986 and 2016, leaving each chapter on a mini cliffhanger that gets resolved incrementally in a way which manages to be incredibly satisfying, instead of frustrating. At no point does it get jumbled or unclear, which is impressive considering how many plot points are introduced across timelines!
It's brilliantly mysterious and spooky, funny at points and devastating at others. I just could not put it down and read the final 200 pages last night. Just a great balance of tense thriller and contemplative discovery.
Oh, and the epilogue? Incredible. It tied the story together in a way which was equal parts shocking and satisfying. I literally closed it and said "yep. That was a fucking good ending." Very gothic very good.
I think there could/should have been some more exploration of certain types of trauma and how they influence the character, specifically
One thing I really enjoyed was the tragedy of consequences, how impulsive, understandable actions led to cascade effects which were unthinkable. It really evokes a feeling of the gothic, of corruption and fear meddling in people's lives, leaving them to stand by and watch their awful role.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Dementia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide, and Violence
araceliream's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape
crusoe's review against another edition
The SA of the MC by his bully (Sean) and the overall way in which women and relationships between men and women were described was also disgusting. I'm so sick and tired of thrillers that objectify women and write about SA/inappropriate relationships without critical engagement. Yuck.
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Moderate: Abortion
vbfields's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This fell very flat for me. It is more of a murder mystery than true horror, which would be fine but I felt the blurb and the whole first half of the book was setting this up to be something so creepy and maybe a little supernatural but that was not the case at all. The characters were all very one dimensional, including the narrator, Eddie. I could not stand that everyone kept lying about everything! Nobody was reliable to the reader and I felt there was a lot of fluff thrown in just to throw us off the true answer that did not even matter in the end. The ending was not surprising and it was actually a little frustrating. I suspected from the beginning about what happened in the final scene with Eddie, but why? And prior to Mickey coming to see him it seemed like this was something Eddie never even thought about in 30 years. His descriptions of women and especially /girls/ were also just disgusting. Every time one came up (and there was a lot) it made me uncomfortable. The actual character of the chalk man was also just completely wasted. Should have just called him straw man.
Graphic: Child abuse and Pedophilia
georgiiaa's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Twists and turns but almost so many it got a bit confusing I found? Lots of different names and relationships to keep track of.
Although, the ending was wrapped up nicely - I enjoyed the last few pages.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Blood, Dementia, Car accident, Murder, and Pregnancy
hailey_horror's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder
redtemptation's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
tlskayte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, and Car accident
mithrun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
definitely do not read if you are squeamish about violence wrt children!
Graphic: Child death, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia
Minor: Child abuse