Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Lakewood by Megan Giddings

29 reviews

grvhppr's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Racism, Torture, and Blood

Minor: Slavery

seullywillikers's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Okay, so I LOVE this book. The atmosphere, the tension, the ambiguity, it is an absolute fever dream. In a similar style to Yoko Ogawa's "The Memory Police" this story gets more and more crazy, more and more intense, more and more psychedelic, until it hits an abrupt end, not answering any of the questions that it asked. What happened to Bethany? Who was the body buried in the woods? Was the entire town in on it? What was the experiment about, really? What was up with the animals? What happened to the rest of the test subjects? Why did the 'observers' behave the way they did? Why did the lake get poisoned? What is up with the three different Judys? What permanent effects will this have on Lena? Was that what happened to Deziree?

This is an ambitious story that wonders about the lengths that the poor and oppressed will go through to protect and save their families, while exploring the history of government experimentation on Black and Indigenous people.

It would be hard to recommend this to someone. Not everyone will like it, enjoy it, or understand it. I'm not sure that I understand it, really. People who don't enjoy it still may find it profound. I'm glad that I've read it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Drug use, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Classism

zombiezami's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Sexism, Torture, Vomit, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

reggiethebird's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, and Death of parent

Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Torture, and Medical content

helhas3letters's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Very readable. The plot hooked me completely and despite a few awkward turns of phrase, I raced through this one.
My main gripe, however, is that I felt the ending was rushed and left too open-ended. I wanted more concrete answers and explanations as to why half the events in the book occurred. I understand that a lot of modern fiction leaves things up to interpretation for the reader, but in this case it felt less 'up to interpretation' and more 'couldn't be bothered thinking of specific reasons why specific things happened'.
The ending was also unfortunately semi-spoiled for me by a way too on-the-nose and frankly reductive pull quote on the cover of the book. It was from Essence and read:

"Reminiscent of Jordan Peele's terrifying film Get Out."

If you've read the book, you'll know what I mean when I say that reading that quote essentially told me the entire ending.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, and Alcohol

mandi_lea's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, and Gore

mraddd's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Grief

srhi96's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction, Excrement, and Vomit

mar's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Racism, Torture, Blood, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Terminal illness, Vomit, Grief, and Gaslighting

emmareadseverything's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This was one of the most terrifying books I’ve read in a while due to its believability. The plot was engaging and horrifying, and I did not have an issue with the ending like some readers did. 

I don’t have much to say other than that I am glad I read this book; I feel like it will stick with me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Torture, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Body horror and Emotional abuse