Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

15 reviews

martin_starr22's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Cannibalism, Car accident, and Murder

thenoboshow's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

The writing captured the pretention of the writers career in food journalism. As most people who eat with their eyes I feel like I could have been more excited about the storytelling in a visual format like a movie or TV show. Living in the head of the main character didn't give us the space to empathize with her nor the distance to understand the charisma that must have existed to allow her to move through the world as she did. A third perspective would have really served.

ingridreadss's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative tense fast-paced

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

5.0

i had so many thoughts while reading this, and now i have none. this is a freaking work of art, as messed up as it may be. i must admit i skimmed the overly-descriptive meals, but the rest i. ate. up. like a woman starved

dorothy, you psycho, “maneater” is your song

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Car accident, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, and Death of parent

danpolta's review against another edition

dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Girlboss American Psycho describes our narrator, Dorothy Daniels. A professed psychopath, the character takes us through the men she murdered, what she wanted from them, and what made her do it.

I really enjoyed the parts where the author uses the character to describe depraved thoughts and feelings through an unreliable narrator who insists that we all feel the same hungers. At her best, you can feel sympathetic toward the drive to cannibalism. At her worst, it feels like gore porn for misandrists.

The build up to the narrator ending up in jail (revealed at the start of the book) feels well-earned, and there are a few Chekhov guns for the mystery-loving attentive reader.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Antisemitism

stomachpains's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Cannibalism

tatimarie8284's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

it honestly took me a while to get into, the first day i got it i was struggling to read the first chapter because i wasn’t expecting the writing style but after i got past it it was such a page turner! couldn’t put it down! it was so uncomfortably descriptive it made it easy to put yourself in her world even though you wouldn’t want to. definitely one worth reading but not if you have a weak stomach 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

killmoore_'s review against another edition

Okay. I struggled with this one. Not because it's poorly written, or that it lacks a good narrative. Not that the premise isn't absolute perfection. I wasn't turned off by the gore. I wasn't offended. If this was written in any other style, I would have devoured this book in a single sitting. I wanted so desperately to love it.

However.

This book reads like a young person trying to squeeze as many derogatory words into 200-something pages as they possibly can. It feels... greasy. It doesn't feel like feminist grit. It tries too hard to portray psychopathy. It's a mess. The gore is the best part, and it really is well written, it's just every other aspect of this book that made me shut it. 

Will I pick it back up someday? Probably. The only reason I didn't finish it was due to an inability to renew this and another novel which I'd much rather fly through before returning them. 

Would I actively recommend this? No. I understand why people love it, it's just truly not for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder

peachmoni's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Car accident, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer, Misogyny, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Death of parent, and Classism

autumngk's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

2.75

I honestly don’t know what I was expecting from this book-cannibalism, sure, but the nonlinear format took me by surprise. Something about it felt too reliant on shock value and grotesque tropes, but after all it is a cannibal serial killer. I don’t know if I’m just beginning to be turned off by horror novels, but this one did the trick. There were really great sections, and I mean chapters at a time where the writing was absolutely beautiful and engaging. I wish we got to know more about Dorothy’s life as the prison librarian and how that began to effect her; I can’t tell if my reservations with this book are that if felt too short and heavy/reliant on the gore to tell its story or what! We get this really nice look into her life…..

after she’s adjusted to prison life during their group when the arsonist is telling her story and some of the other women are talking and Dorothy reveals a possible change in her feelings about what she’s done/herself. It’s not worthy of a sequel, just a couple more chapters here and there. While what we’re left with is a complete picture, it felt like there were just some missed opportunities. So many offers were put up in the air by introducing her in the present as working in the library; especially given her relationship with Emma, it felt unfinished in a way. We know so much about her while she’s cannibalizing and murdering these men senselessly, but it feels pointless to still know her while she’s imprisoned and know so little about her in the present. She still has the same voice. She still speaks the same about humanity. What about her changed? if nothing did, why this story? Why now? Just to sell cannibal torture porn?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

elizajstocks's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

If you love true crime, food, sex, and feminism? Read it right now. Then go watch The Menu. Similar vibes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail