Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

8 reviews

mikileann's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

I was mentally preparing myself to absolutely not like this book, as the movie was such a flop. However, I was quickly whiplashed as the story took unpredictable twists and turns. My anxiety was with them the entire time. This book is definitely not for the faint of heart, there are many gruesome scenes which is why I’ve included such a strong content warning— some were so incredibly shocking that I had to put the book down to compose myself. This book is such a thriller, and I highly recommend to anyone looking to be on the edge of your seat the entire time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence

uselesspirateraven's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, and Abortion

emadisonc's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

It’s better to face madness with a plan than to sit still and let it take you in pieces.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Suicide, and Pregnancy

mckensi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

chezler24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Bird Box was a thrilling read. After finishing The Day of the Triffids, it was interesting to read another book where the loss of sight plays a part in the apocalyptic scenario at hand. Bird Box plays out a bit more intimately than the book I just compared it to. It focuses on Malorie, a woman who discovers that she is pregnant while these unusual, gruesome scenarios are popping up all over the globe. There is no hope for military intervention and Malorie has a small pool of characters she interacts with throughout her journey. The story is told where each chapter shifts back and forth on Malorie's timeline between the onset of the apocalypse where she is carrying the child and trying to find her way to a safe house nearby to the present scenario four years later where she is caring for hers and another woman's child (referred to as Boy and Girl throughout the majority of the events). The author handled this chronological back and forth well so the reader was never completely out of the loop or bored with understanding how things would come about in the flashback scenes. The book is a bit gruesome; however, it is a unique sort of horror because all of the scenes are either dictated from the point of view of someone who is only hearing and smelling what is going on or from the aftermath of a scene left behind ages ago. The absence of the character's sight does not hamper the reader's ability to experience what is going on in the scenes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Grief

k8lynn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

This book was amazing, I loved the interweaving timeline and the storytelling throughout the entire novel. Everything came to a head within the last 60 pages and I couldn't stop reading. A great thriller. Some scenes are a bit gory,

including a descriptive dog death, suicidal tendencies, violence, and dark themes.

Definitely recommend to horror fans!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

purplesky25276's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

10 out of 10!! This book was so much better than the movie! Oh! And you have to listen with the audio book! This narrative for the audio will have you so caught up in the story that it will make it harder to put down. This book gave a wide range of emotions. It was like I was right there with the Malorie!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol