courtneyburke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Minor: Alcohol
jesssicawho'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
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Child death, Grief, Torture, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, and Mental illness
lilias'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
4.25
The first 50 or so pages of this book just seemed full of misplaced whimsy and weirdness. I don’t like it when something, a book or a film, goes out of its way to be weird just for the sake of being weird. But nothing grabs my attention like a mystery. And when little reveals started to peel away the silly veneer that was, when it came down to it, author Catronia Ward speaking in (infuriating) riddles, I was hooked. I wish I had been so invested in the entire book, but, still, this was a really good reading experience for me, overall.
Graphic: Death of parent, Torture, Confinement, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fatphobia, Suicide, Death of parent, and Self harm
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
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
Spoiler
suicide and suicide attemptnicolesbookreviews'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
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Animal death, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Incest, Alcohol, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
niceonehros'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: Body horror, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Stalking, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
While much of the content is troubling, disturbing, and hard, this book was worth the discomfort. I don't want to give anything away, but do make sure you read the Afterword.ilaxaria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Death of parent, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Hate crime, Torture, Self harm, Homophobia, and Fatphobia
Minor: Eating disorder