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aseel_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
1.75
This author is a hit or miss for me, and this was a miss. For starters if the house is filled with puppets and dolls OBVIOUSLY ITS GOING TO BE HAUNTED. Being a cliche was the lesser of the crimes this book commited. The next was the weird historical add on of 9/11??? Like why did the brother join anti war puppet organisation and then like lose his identity within the puppet and kill (?) his friends . The last thing that had me gagged, as the kids say, POPPY MAKING HER OWN PUPPET?? that was straight up messed up, as well as cutting off her own brother's arm??? And some pretend/real spider pet?? Damn this book went off the rails
Lolol as I'm writing the review, I brought down the rating
Lolol as I'm writing the review, I brought down the rating
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment and War
sarah984's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-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
2.5
I enjoyed parts of this, but I always want to like Grady Hendrix's books more than I end up doing. This was way too long and felt like it spent a lot of time spinning its wheels, the characters felt like they were mostly acting however it was needed to keep the plot moving, and a few plot points strained credulity even keeping in mind it's a horror novel. The anarchist puppet collective putting on a show critical of the Bush admin in the immediate post 9/11 era to third graders and then a group of people dressed as clowns with a puppet trash one of the teachers’ houses and no one ever reacts to this or talks about it?? This would have been bigger than the killer clown craze in 2016.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, Gore, Violence, Medical content, and Car accident
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment