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ephemeral_remi'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
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Abandonment
emmdashed's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
It's probably not the Grossest Book Ever but it's up there and it features Very Graphic Animal and Child Cruelty/Death. And there are some other really gnarly moments of just nasty stuff. And some cringey sexting.
Ultimately I am still not sure how I completely feel about this book. It was both extremely easy to read and extremely difficult to read. You want to know what happens and it's so short you can just inhale it but at the same time the images it paints are disturbing and I found myself just really bummed and grossed out. I think it crosses the line at points into being 2 Edgy 4 U so like.... that's certainly a choice. I found myself wondering what is the point what are we saying why this story. But also I read the whole thing so ???
I think it could either have been longer so we could get more into the characters and why they behaved the way they did. Or it could have been shorter and excised some of the unnecessary anecdotes (like honestly the Little Christ and the Priest and the Cat moments added literally nothing apart from being ~edgy and disturbing ooooo~). The length that it was was just awkward.
Some more spoiler heavy thoughts below:
I was more bothered by the speed at which the Tapeworm grew like... it takes weeks not days. Especially for them to get that big. But maybe I'm just pedantic.
Also.... I feel bad for Agnes' roommate while all this nonsense is going on like. Your roommate is keeping rotting meat and eating it like that would stink up the house at the very least. Besides all the other weird behavior lol.
TLDR: idk this was a weird one and I can't say if it's good or bad. Bummed me out but I've been thinking about it for days. Blades of Glory says it best.
"Nobody knows what it means but it's provocative. It's gets the people going."
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and War
Moderate: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Dysphoria
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Not sure about the severity ratings but I tried to put as many of these as I can. I cannot stress enough that this book gets r o u g h. The animal and child death stood out particularly to me but other bits might bother other people.bloomlove's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
jtkerlin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Abandonment
cuteasamuntin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
That being said, I am glad I read this. LaRocca exhibits technically-skilled writing, compelling style, and a cohesive voice, a combination that makes for a powerful, even formidable storyteller. I would recommend his work to fans of dark, reflective fiction and horror that seeks to reflect and linger rather that titillate and dissipate.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Body horror, Homophobia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Medical content
Minor: Child death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Murder
harmon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
freyanjani's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence
sweetpea4's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Homophobia, Vomit, and Lesbophobia
friendofdorothea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Why was this a sapphic couple? I would think Zoe was actually a man because what woman would do that it almost feels offensive as a lesbian to read this omg Im surprised I didn’t throw up. Also so weird that a man wrote this
I don’t know why anyone would write this but not surprised that it wasn’t a woman that wrote this. Like how did this come into somebody’s head. Ew 🤮🤮🤮
This author needs to go to therapy
Also I may never eat again.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
aliceayork's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, and Mental illness