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dysfunctile's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I personally thoroughly enjoyed this book more than I anticipated. The writing style and different POVs were hard to follow at first and there were points where I felt like it was too pretentious, but I’m glad I stuck with it because I was tearing up by the end.
I’ve seen people call the twist cheap because it relies on
Overall I understand why some people detest this book. I personally liked it and it was very enjoyable both as a mystery-thriller read and as a book with a surprisingly emotional arc for the main character.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Minor: Suicide
whyohchai's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism
kyliejade322's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
l0v3lu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol
bxnnny'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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Stalking, and Death of parent
pretty heavy content warning.aranmn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, and Abandonment
kassiebee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i went into this book not knowing a thing- not even the synopsis. i saw the creepy cover (with the cat) and i thought “this looks spooky…lets do it”.
as i read the first few chapters, i was fully expecting a mysterious, killer-catching, revenge having, story. until the
BUT… after my excitement wore off, and changed my expectations… i was glad (accepted) where the story was going. As i read on, i found myself intrigued by the explanation of it all. it all really, really made sense. And i enjoyed it. i LOVED how Ward was able to make me feel icky about Ted at the beginning, to making me happy for him in the end. love that.
All in all, the slow reveal of Ted’s psyche for us to figure out was fun- you can tell that Ward did her homework.
Now on to what I didn’t like…
Lastly , unpopular opinion, but i did not enjoy Olivia’s chapters …. oops. i found myself rushing through them to get to Lauren and Ted, even Dee. It took a while for her chapters to get interesting even though they had really important tidbits and clues. love this cute gay cat but i just idk…
would i re-read? nah
am i glad i did? yeah
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Torture, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Religious bigotry and Abandonment
suchsweetsorrow89'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? It's complicated
4.0
as an avid nerd of the classics and dabbles into what defines the monstrous, this book borrows from so much of these classic authors and hallmark texts and really extracts the themes that make them work (i.e. religion, alienation, body horror, gender constructions, growing up, sexuality, the transcendental spaces of the woods and water, even down to the classic 'haunted house' trope, and so much more) while also developing an entirely unique product in the end that makes me happy i decided to pick up this horror book (as someone who doesn't really read horror) and makes me even more excited to see both what ward and other contemporary horror writers will do in the future. highly recommend!
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming
niceonehros's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
While much of the content is troubling, disturbing, and hard, this book was worth the discomfort. I don't want to give anything away, but do make sure you read the Afterword.sinisterbeard'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction