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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.
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.
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
junowo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
3.75
This book promised a dark, intense experience—and I would say it mostly delivered. It was absolutely a page turner, and for most of the book I struggled to put it down.
However, for me, I felt like there was so much hesitance to go into detail about the horror of what happened to the children in Litani that it left a lot unfinished. Many of the smaller plot lines were briefly mentioned in a finishing way, but left no details. I think Lourey is masterful at creating tension and discomfort for readers, but the lack of following through on that tension, as well as the way the end of the book wraps up quickly and neatly, felt a bit disappointing.
However, for me, I felt like there was so much hesitance to go into detail about the horror of what happened to the children in Litani that it left a lot unfinished. Many of the smaller plot lines were briefly mentioned in a finishing way, but left no details. I think Lourey is masterful at creating tension and discomfort for readers, but the lack of following through on that tension, as well as the way the end of the book wraps up quickly and neatly, felt a bit disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug use
felinesandfelonies's review against another edition
dark
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
4.0
"We do need people, every one of us. In fact, it's impossible to do the hard stuff alone."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcoholism