Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Girl Next Door

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

18 reviews

oktrouble1401213's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-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

5.0

It feels horrific to give a book like this 5 stars. This book made me feel sick multiple times. But it’s a story that deserves to be told and I don’t think the writing could have been any more perfect.

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killmoore_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

I was very familiar with the Sylvia Likens case going in to the girl next door, and honestly, I was grateful that Ketchum took it upon himself to narrate the novel in a way that left the most gruesome details to the imagination - what happened to Sylvia was truly terrible, and to describe in detail what happened through a work of fiction would, in a way, be disrespectful.

However, despite being well written and truly gut wrenching, I feel that Ketchum missed the mark on painting a true monster in Ruth. I understand that this is written through the eyes of a child, but it really just skims the surface on what motivates a person to commit these atrocities, let alone the impact a trusted adults actions have on the children in their care.

Girl Next Door is awful. It is a gruesome depiction of child abuse, grief and depravity, written in a way that is still palatable for the general public. Check your trigger warnings and prepare to have your heart broken.

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rachelunabridged's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced

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? Yes

4.25

god, this is probably the most horrific book i've ever read. i spent most of the book alternating between rage and being sick to my stomach. while this book is fictional, it's based on the true story of sylvia likens, and the events depicted are very close to what happened in real life. just an absolutely sickening story that will definitely leave you feeling less optimistic about humanity.

i actually went back and forth about this book for a while before deciding how i wanted to handle this review. i don't feel good about rating on the basis of content because this is basically a true story, so i've decided to rate based purely on the writing itself. i think the author did an amazing job with telling the story. he was able to capture the terrifying events without allowing it to creep into exploitation. it felt like he was very respectful of the source, and i liked that in the acknowledgements at the end, he seemed as infuriated about it as i did.

additionally, i really enjoyed his style. he writes in a very straight forward + to-the-point manner that reminded me a lot of stephen king. this was my first read by the author, but i'll definitely be checking out more of his work in the future!

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archaicrobin's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.0

Honestly this was a hard one to rate. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed this, it’s not really a book you enjoy, but it was well written and truly disturbing. Especially if you’re familiar with the true crime case this book is based on, the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens.

From the perspective of one of the teen bystanders who is not necessarily completely innocent, the reader has an interesting perspective as the narrator explains why and how he was able to standby without intervening when such horrific things were being done.

This is not for the faint of heart, or for anyone that’s looking for a happy ending. The Girl Next Door is very bleak, and exposes the horrors that are present in our neighborhoods which should be safe. Definitely recommend this to horror fans or those interested in true crime, not for your everyday best seller reader!

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clarke's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Loveable characters? No

3.0

Are we supposed to sympathise with David? I know this is based on the Sylvia Likens case, but every single one of them should've had a worse fate, IRL and in this book.

This also felt reaaaaally slow to get going, and didn't feel like it was just setting the scene or anything. I'm too desensitised to horror for the graphic scenes to bother me, but I'd advise checking out trigger warnings before reading even if you're familiar with the case.

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