Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

La chica de al lado, by Jack Ketchum

53 reviews

1kid200plants's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

4.0

This was a deeply very disturbing book. I’ve never had to walk away from a book because it was too intense before, but I have now. I don’t even know how to rate it. And when I didn’t think it could get worse, it did. Please please check trigger warnings before reading. And then its even made much worse when you realize this actually happened to a poor little girl named Sylvia Likens. Although the writing was good, I kinda wish I’d never read this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Torture, and Rape

dimeryrene's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Very hard to rate. Toes the line of torture porn and simply telling the horrific events. I know a lot was changed too, so do with that what you will. Hard to say if a book like this should exist. Hard all around. I think it was good, but I would never reread it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Confinement, Violence, Torture, Child abuse, Bullying, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Excrement, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

chronicallymasha's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Misogyny, Blood, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Gore, Fatphobia, Violence, and Child death

paisley_jpeg's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

this was so disturbing and disgusting. i read it so quick cause i wanted it to be over 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Child abuse, Violence, and Sexual violence

stacymania's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

This was my first Jack Ketchum book, and now I need more! I've heard they're difficult to track down so fingers crossed!  

The story starts out nice enough; two girls taken in by their aunt after a tragic accident. Narrated by the boy next door.

However, as events slowly turn to the worst, I couldn't keep this book out of my hands. Growing fear, disgust and absolute outraged gripped me. I would close the book, fearing the worst and find myself reading again almost immediately. I needed to know what happened at every turn.

TGND deals with extreme subject matter, yet Ketchum shows us just enough of the horror to keep it digestible. The unwritten horrors are implied enough that they blooms in the reader's mind, which shows his absolute talent for writing.

I have never hated a character as much as I loathed the main antagonist in The Girl Next Door. I wanted to reach into the pages and destroy her. I was so angry and devastatingly frustrated! 

Ketchum formed these characters and events so well that I was fully immersed and transported into the story. Although this was probably the most horrific and difficult book I've read, it has become an immediate favourite of mine. 

I need more Ketchum!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, and Addiction

houst's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

stardustdreamer's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

dark sad tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

mirandawood's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is the story of Sylvia Likens. There’s also a blend of other crimes, some characters added and changed than the true story, but the entire time all I could think about was Sylvia. From the burns, the sexual abuse, the words carved into her torso, the basement imprisonment, the neighborhood kids encouraged to abuse her, that is Sylvia’s tragic story. I’m sad not to see her mentioned in an authors note or anything because this is so heavily based on her. 

There are so many triggers in this if you can’t already tell. Before reading this, I highly recommend researching Sylvia Likens. This book uses a first persons point of view of the abuse which makes it a lot darker than reading a true crime outline. If you can’t get through that, then don’t pick this up. It’s very hard to stomach at points, parts have even been left out intentionally by the author because of he graphic it would be.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Body horror, Child death, and Injury/injury detail

ladyeowyns's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• 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

3.5

I'm never having kids 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Violence, Ableism, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Injury/injury detail, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Child abuse, Confinement, and Death