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fictionaladventures's review
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, and Injury/Injury detail
sarah_shelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I usually reserve 1 stars for books I actively despised reading. While I would not say I despise this book, I had absolutely no investment in the characters or plot for the majority of this novel. I wanted the reasons/explanation for the creepy world of the present timeline, which we got in the last 20 pages, but I didn’t particularly care about anything else. This sounds bad, again, given the last 20 pages, which is why I’m splitting my review into my thoughts pre- and post- reveal (plot twist? ending?)
I bought this book on a whim one day, intrigued by the cover and the premise as well as a passing interest in one of Francesca Zappia’s other novels. Mostly I bought this book because it reminded me of the horror games my friends and I were obsessed with watching when we were in middle school. For the majority of the book, those vibes were all I really got out of it, plus a frustrating reminder of how YA can be such a vague genre when it caters to so many age groups. Pre-reveal I did not think I was at all part of the target audience for this novel. Honestly, I still think this novel would’ve gone over better with at least high school self (some of the more serious topics that come up later plus the gore may have been too much for middle school me.) Though the reveal does make the novel a lot more present and relevant to our society as a whole.
What I mean by the target audience is the characters, storyline, and writing were all simplistic. The past timeline, what happened before in the normal world, follows our main character Cat as she grows up and goes through high school. Cat is an outcast and a bit of a loner. She’s that weird girl with one friend and a talent at making creepy and disturbing art. Her best friend Jeffrey is a plain, chill dude who sticks by Cat through all the bullying, especially at the hands of his older brother, the attractive and ever popular Jake the jock. All of these characters feel like archetypes I’ve seen in high school media countless times and the bullying Cat suffers from, while horrendous, is still a story I’ve heard before. There was nothing interesting or different about this past timeline, no new commentary besides the dangers of bullying.
The present timeline, in the horror reflection of Cat’s high school and student body held my attention the most, but it still left a lot too be desired. If Cat’s past was just an exhibition of all the ways her life went wrong (with the exception of her relationship with Jeffrey) then Cat’s present just tries to one-up itself with the creepy student transformations and increasingly bloodier and gory-er murders. The crux in this storyline is finding out who or what is killing the changes students (the outcasts) with a minor desire to escape the prison the school has become, but that mostly falls to the wayside. It’s framed like a mystery, but it’s really not. Everyone points fingers at School’s so-called boogeyman, Laserbeams who lives in a cave of knives in the basement. So of course, it’s Laserbeams. Why? Well after a bloodbath,
As the climax of the violence occurs, Cat finally remembers what happened at the end of the past timeline:
Why was any of the horror timeline necessary?
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings
Amputation Executionfrogggirl2'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
trippalli's review
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Eating disorder
xangemtheelibrarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I actually really liked this alternate reality kind of horror universe where the popular kids look like normal humans and the outcasts like Cat look strange and inhuman. I like how the Outcasts outer forms matched how Cat described their human selves too. I like the theme of looking human not necessarily equalling acting human. And I honestly think that the ending fit this story so incredibly well.
I love it. What a great story to kick off 2023.
Graphic: Bullying and Violence
Moderate: Death, Gore, and Blood
Minor: Eating disorder
supersol375's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment
sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Self harm, Sexual content, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
stonams's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder, Torture, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Animal death and Mental illness
ninjamuse's review
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, and Blood
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Mass/school shootings, and Sexual harassment
maddireads13's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, and Mass/school shootings