Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

55 reviews

jesscoast's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Wow. Ive ventured into a few horror novellas before but this was truly haunting. Ideal for a horror movie buff who gets the references to the iconic pop culture moments and classics scattered throughout the book. But even as someone like myself who hasn't seen many scary films, this was worth the read. From a mystery and thriller standpoint, it caught me off guard how well crafted it was. Tremblay takes is down a dark, depressing, uncomfortable rabbit hole of a struggling family dealing with religion, a child's behavioral issue, financial stress, marital tension. A silver bullet arrives in the form of a reality TV show to offer financial relief in return for giving up their privacy and facing the wrath of protest. Just when you think that's about as heavy as it can get, Tremblay turns the whole narrative on its head.

The meta stories within stories framed around the family, the reality tv show, and online analysis of the show was brilliant. It kept my eyes glued to the page and I couldn't get enough.

If you think a story about a teenaged girl acting out can't be chilling, think again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Excrement, and Grief

yllex's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

mmwi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Blood, Vomit, and Religious bigotry

aykdanroyd's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Blood, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

gbyronwilliams's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, and Alcohol

abbsgabs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Self harm and Excrement

exhumedprince's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Excrement, and Alcohol

madelineb's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

I loved this - very exorcist and three stories with in a story! Very messy with an unreliable narrator. Audiobook was pretty good considering how many voices she read for! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

mouse42's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

I love a good unreliable narrator! Plus the audiobook was amazing, loved the voice actor 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

onemamareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Read my full review here:  https://onemamassummer.weebly.com/book-reviews/a-head-full-of-ghosts 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail