lady_valhella'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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Grief, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death, Suicide attempt, Violence, Abandonment, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Murder
kt2e56'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: Medical content, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
hxlleann'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, and Animal cruelty
stardustvein's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Murder
tnels4'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: Mental illness, Child abuse, Child death, Animal death, and Suicide
Moderate: Kidnapping, Drug abuse, and Toxic relationship
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
Spoiler
the one thing i really want to flag for those who have read the book is that i think ward put so much time into researching the effects of DID in ways that must be praised and celebrated. she took so much care into not making this one of those classic horror stories that come off offensive to actually craft a narrative that everyone can relate to at it's basic level: though we all seemingly strive for the good, sometimes the path of memory, acceptance, and forgiveness does not look linear for all, and that sometimes the very key to forgive ourselves and begin to live life and survive again looks like doing just that again and again and learning to celebrate and be angry at sometimes and just lean in. and that is perhaps the most beautiful message to put in a horror book especially.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: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Torture, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Medical content, Gore, Domestic abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Body shaming
Spoiler
suicide and suicide attemptommageden's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It was a good library read.
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcoholism and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit
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: Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, Suicide, Mental illness, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Torture, Death, Child death, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Addiction
squisheebee_'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Stalking, Torture, Child abuse, Child death, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Abandonment, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Animal cruelty
theimposter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Child death, Child abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, and Vomit