aardwyrm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Classism, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
themaddbeanie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
0.5
Spoiler
Readers will be like, "What a crazy twist!" when the author lies to you for 250 pages and then decides to tell you the truth at the end.Yeah, someone's mental illness is not your horror story. You can't just steal a real disorder and turn it into a "freak show" for others to gawk at. Disrespectful
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Abandonment, Child abuse, Grief, Bullying, Injury/injury detail, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Medical content, Confinement, Death, Animal cruelty, Child death, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Animal death, Injury/injury detail, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Body horror, and Vomit
I feel like this could potentially be very upsetting for people with certain mental illnesses or those who have experienced abuse.kjm_x'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
5.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Physical abuse
mommarex1221'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? It's complicated
4.5
I knew from the first few chapters that what Ward had created was masterfully written, even if I questioned what exactly it was that I was reading. This book will stick with me.
Triggers galore. Explore at your own risk, some may be considered spoilers.
Graphic: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Murder, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, Alcohol, Body shaming, Child death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Self harm, Alcoholism, Injury/injury detail, and Physical abuse
mxflorian'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
Moderate: Body horror, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Murder, Body shaming, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Violence
unphilosophize's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I will never like a book that uses mental illness as a plot point.
A lot of folks talked about how they liked the afterward, and while I agree that it was an important thing to add it was poorly executed. I did not feel that her explanation really did justice to the diagnosis that she chose to exploit in her book, nor did it really talk about the controversy around that diagnosis in a good way.
Overall extremely disappointing.
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, and Kidnapping
elliotvanz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Child death, and Torture
Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Self harm
sorcha_rosa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Spoiler
I think this needs to be written by someone with DID, or an own-voices perspective. I understand that she was trying to use our own biases against us and show us that this main character was actually not a murderer but in fact the victim. However, I'm not sure that that was the best way to show us a character with DID. It came across as someone being like, 'oh yeah, they're not a psychopathic murderer, they just have DID.' which might not be the best representation, even if they have this redeemable arch at the end? I don't know, I need to hear someone own-voices reviewers as I said. As someone who is neurodiveregent though, I wouldn't want this type of story written about me.Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Stalking