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thetearex's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
hailthejessiah's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Minor: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
nialiversuch's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infertility, Excrement, and Vomit
sam_is_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, and Death of parent
the_escapist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
annabulkowski'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
notlilyburke's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
saz10's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
littlemonster's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Lex Gracie has a new life. It doesn't involve (most of) her siblings, her past, and it especially doesn't involve being executor of her mother's will. She's tried her hardest to leave it all behind, to become more than just Girl A, the child who successfully escaped and got help for her brothers and sisters. Leaving the past behind is harder than she bargained for, though, and forced to get her siblings' signatures in order to turn their former House of Horrors into something better, Lex has to come to terms with what she experienced growing up -- and try to understand her siblings in the process.
First and foremost, I enjoyed the slow unraveling of Lex's past, and I found her tentative reconciliations with her siblings to be both fascinating and also rather sweet. The rather disjointed writing style didn't bother me; for me, it was an example of Lex's own mental state, and her attempts at trying to "forget" or "move on" from her tragic past. The jumping timelines worked well, I thought, in helping us to further understand exactly how hard it is to keep ourselves from falling into memories of childhood traumas.
This book is not a "thriller," or a straightforward "mystery." We know the crime, we know its perpetrators, and we know the victims. This is instead about the aftermath and impact of severe abuse, and how even children who have grown up in the same circumstances and same environment cope with varied methods, and are different despite their shared upbringing. So, if you are picking this up expecting there to be a mystery, you will undoubtedly be disappointed.
However, there were a couple of elements I found both disappointing and lackluster. I'll start with something simple: Dean is an only child, and sometimes it shows. Some of the relationships are very well done nonetheless, but there were some passages that left me thinking, "No one thinks this way about their sibling," or "That doesn't seem realistic at all." The most important issue, though, has to do with something that is a huge spoiler, so I'm afraid I can't discuss it in detail. So, I'll just say: there's a predictable, disappointingly harmful "twist" that definitely knocked a star off for me.
Finally, while I would recommend this book, I think there's one more thing that needs to be addressed. While this book does include various details pulled from many famous true crime cases (including Rosemary and Fred West's "House of Horrors"), it is extremely obvious that the Turpin case is the main "inspiration." Many people questioned the ethics behind this, and speaking truthfully, I do as well. It is fiction, and there's obviously millions of other books that closely follow real life stories, but the Turpin children have already been so exploited, so violated -- not only by their parents, but by the media and outsiders -- that it does feel almost insulting. And I'd argue that it might go beyond mere inspiration, because it is down to the very smallest details (these are only a few examples: the Gracie father is a computer engineer, as was David Turpin; the Gracie children are allowed showers only once a year, and mustn't wash their hands above the wrist, just like the Turpin children).
If we're going to criticize Dean's book, though, then we must go on and criticize many others. It's a complicated, multilayered issue that I, unfortunately, don't have a good answer for. Victims and survivors should be protected from all forms of exploitation, but if we didn't allow books that were inspired by real life events, we'd probably have none at all. And what about authors of true crime books? Does that same rule then apply to them?
It's an issue that stumps me, and I hope that if any one has any thoughts on it, you'll leave a comment!
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
onegirlandtheworld's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Excrement