Reviews tagging 'Death'

Litani by Jess Lourey

6 reviews

passionyoungwrites's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Y’all, this little girl is hard headed. She goes into the woods, talks to strangers - adults included., and eventually finds out random information that leads her to the answers that even her mother couldn’t find. 

🐈‍⬛ 

I found this an interesting read, small town where everyone knowers everyone and secrets that you’d not think possible. Though Frankie even finds out information about her father, and eventually her mother that she would not have been able to know if she hadn’t moved to Litani herself. 

🐈‍⬛ 

“The Game” was crazy, as it was mentioned but wasn’t revealed until the police were involved. Though three little girls invited Frankie to play, and she accepted without knowing what it consisted of. Luckily, Frankie being nosey and meeting those girls saved her in the end and really the entire town. One confession put the people responsible behind bars. And from just meeting some of the guilty ones, you couldn’t have guessed who was responsible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Animal cruelty and Child abuse

intoxicatedflower's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

trysarahtops's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

renyoi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

At the risk of sounding demented, I think this book would have benefitted from more explicitly horrifying moments. Everything was left to imagination and interpretation, which enhanced the experience for the first 70% of the book, but when I never truly know the horrors of what happened, some of the intensity and bite is taken out of the story. It could have gone further. 

That said, it was still an enjoyable, tense, mysterious read, and even though it did not have enough satanic panic-based 80s horror for me, my experience reading it was good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Alcohol

Minor: Forced institutionalization

tiasy97'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Child death, Death, Rape, and Death of parent

boba_nbooks's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

If you’re looking for something creepy and a little too real, look no further. Lourey’s latest novel takes the reader back to the 80s when there was a satanic cult scare, but as people worried about the cults, they forgot to look for the monsters in their own towns and homes. Told from the perspective of a young teen, the reader witnesses the horrors of child abuse and parental trauma. The novel unravels our view of a “safe” neighborhood and trusting our neighbors. Sure to send a chill down your spine, “Litani” is worth the scare. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Abandonment