shortstackmayor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Blood and Animal cruelty
tiffanielle'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Self harm, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Suicide, Child death, Death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Mental illness, Vomit, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicidal thoughts
support_lesbian'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Maybe this was the point or just me in particular but I really don't think calling this a horror novel really does this book any favors unless the point of labeling it as such was to subvert expectations of common abelist horror tropes, but even so it still feels bad waiting for a punch in gut that may or may come for you. I don't know if its something to think about or not.
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Mental illness, Child death, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Murder
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
Spoiler
D.I.D implications started. i caught on pretty fast, but it wasn’t a deal breaker. I was intrigued but, I’m not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed too. the mystery of Girl with Popsicle really got me in the mood to figure out how, when, and where Ted pulled this all off. and SO excited to read a thrilling escape by Lauren and Olivia. I didn’t care if it didn’t make sense that Lauren could understand cats. (a flaw on my part)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…
Spoiler
Dee, Dee, Dee… had so much potential. i didn’t care for her. i appreciated and understood her role in the story, but her death did not affect me as much as I hoped/should have. and bug man?? that incident in the bar/store was just bizarre, how he was just kinda left there and not really mentioned again. that’s a bookish pet peeve of mine ‘‘v.v …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: Suicide, Death of parent, Death, Self harm, Child death, Mental illness, Murder, Blood, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Addiction
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Murder, Torture, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Homophobia
Minor: Religious bigotry and Abandonment
killmoore_'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
5.0
Best book I have read all year, and in the top 5 for all time. I cannot express how much I loved this book.
It will make you feel all the things, drop you on your skull and do it all over again. 10/10 will be recommending to anyone who enjoys the genre.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Stalking, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Torture
catriona176'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Child abuse
Moderate: Child death, Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Death of parent
Minor: Grief and Homophobia
kimberlyswalters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spoiler
I would love to read more about Ted's life with Rob and how their friendship/relationship grows, how they deal with Ted's alters, etc. I don't like "fluff", but I would make an acception for that. And I could read more about Night Olivia and their little show, and their opinions on naps.Graphic: Physical abuse and Mental illness
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death of parent, Blood, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Body horror, Death, Grief, Child abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Minor: Murder and Self harm
rochelleisreading's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Stalking, Suicide, Blood, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Animal cruelty
zzvrrismm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Blood
Minor: Animal death
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