lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Child death, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Rape, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Murder, and Self harm
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Racism, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Vomit, Stalking, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Addiction, Religious bigotry, Torture, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, and War
cass_lit's review against another edition
2.25
1) The format. These were short stories that didn’t seem interconnected, but most (I think at least one wasn’t) were told in first person. This means as soon as you figure out who your narrator is, because there’s no omniscient one to tell you, you’re moving onto another narrator. I don’t dislike short stories or essays as a rule, but this one really didn’t work for me.
2) The content. What the fuck. I get that it’s macabre intentionally and meant to reflect the horror of reality, but when these topics are brought up in short stories like this without the space to discuss them… it just feels exploitative.
Some examples, though I’m sure I’m forgetting a few (*trigger and spoiler warnings ahead*): child abuse, child rape, child murder, child neglect, alcohol and drug abuse, rape, murder, abuse, animal cruelty (including eating of a live cat), use of the r-word and racist/xenophobic/classist language. And again — I get that these are unfortunately real horrors sometimes (or are meant to represent other real issues), but *I* don’t like when there’s no discussion on them apart from their shock value.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Excrement, Sexual violence, Child death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Rape, Animal death, Suicide attempt, and Self harm
Moderate: Police brutality, Body horror, Body shaming, and Classism
Minor: Lesbophobia and Gaslighting
kelisabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Addiction, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Infidelity, Murder, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Transphobia
aisabel'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Violence, Death, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
thenonbinaryc's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Abandonment, Abortion, Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Self harm, Rape, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Classism, Death, Sexual violence, Sexism, Murder, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Vomit, Violence, Transphobia, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, and Fatphobia
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicide, and War
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Rape, and Vomit