nadia's review against another edition
4.0
Anyway, really good, with my faves being The Neighbor's Courtyard, Adela's House, and, Under The Black Water.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, and Murder
Moderate: Rape
booktribe's review against another edition
4.0
Average rating: 3.7 ⭐️’s
I wish a lot of the stories had been longer!
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Suicide
Moderate: Fatphobia, Ableism, Rape, and Animal cruelty
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Child death, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Rape, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Murder, and Self harm
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Racism, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Vomit, Stalking, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Addiction, Religious bigotry, Torture, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, and War
paginasmarcadas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
Graphic: Torture, Addiction, Blood, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Child abuse, Police brutality, Body horror, Confinement, Excrement, and Murder
Moderate: Eating disorder and Excrement
erma11's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child death, Classism, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Pedophilia, Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexism, Torture, Addiction, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
cass_lit's review against another edition
2.25
1) The format. These were short stories that didn’t seem interconnected, but most (I think at least one wasn’t) were told in first person. This means as soon as you figure out who your narrator is, because there’s no omniscient one to tell you, you’re moving onto another narrator. I don’t dislike short stories or essays as a rule, but this one really didn’t work for me.
2) The content. What the fuck. I get that it’s macabre intentionally and meant to reflect the horror of reality, but when these topics are brought up in short stories like this without the space to discuss them… it just feels exploitative.
Some examples, though I’m sure I’m forgetting a few (*trigger and spoiler warnings ahead*): child abuse, child rape, child murder, child neglect, alcohol and drug abuse, rape, murder, abuse, animal cruelty (including eating of a live cat), use of the r-word and racist/xenophobic/classist language. And again — I get that these are unfortunately real horrors sometimes (or are meant to represent other real issues), but *I* don’t like when there’s no discussion on them apart from their shock value.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Excrement, Sexual violence, Child death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Rape, Animal death, Suicide attempt, and Self harm
Moderate: Police brutality, Body horror, Body shaming, and Classism
Minor: Lesbophobia and Gaslighting
laurenboys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Addiction, Child death, Murder, Drug use, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Police brutality
eeechooo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, and Misogyny
mayasr's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Violence, Child death, Body horror, Murder, Gore, Death, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury
mefrias's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Moderate: Suicide, Rape, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Murder