catwithabook's review against another edition
Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
lunahbee's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Blood, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Self harm, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Pedophilia
Listen to the warnings (Dead Dove Do Not Eat)mydistortedparadise's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
At which point. - per the authors note - I realized this was based on a true story. Which is apparently even worse, and more sickening. I cant comment on how well this book stuck to the facts as I am unfamiliar, and quite frankly I do not want to know the reality. This book was horrifying as fiction, and it feels exploitative knowing it isn’t entirely fiction.
Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Blood, Torture, Sexism, Excrement, Murder, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Bullying, Confinement, Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Cursing, and Body shaming
Minor: Body shaming, Death of parent, Car accident, and Alcoholism
killmoore_'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
3.5
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.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Torture, Child abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, Rape, Child death, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Excrement, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
rachelunabridged'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? Yes
4.25
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!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Torture, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Child abuse, Sexism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Cursing, Child death, Murder, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Death, and Confinement
archaicrobin'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
4.0
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!
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, Child death, Cursing, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship
april0727'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? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
cow4girl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism and Body horror
Moderate: Murder, Rape, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
stardustdreamer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, Torture, Blood, Gore, Grief, Bullying, Excrement, Murder, Gaslighting, Rape, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Car accident, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
ananamauvais'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
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Self harm, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Body shaming, Child death, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Car accident and Pedophilia