Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

Howl by Shaun David Hutchinson

9 reviews

mikeroderique's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Bullying, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Homophobia

Minor: Vomit, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Self harm, Outing, Murder, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Police brutality

enyltiak's review

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

I read this book fast. It was fairly gripping, and I wanted the mystery to unravel and reveal the truth. That being said, it also frustrated me. Nearly all the characters, save for Tripp and Astrid, behaved in ways that drove me crazy; I hated Virgil's family, and the way that he chose to continue interacting with Jarrett and Finn despite everything was mind boggling. If I were Tripp or Astrid I wouldn't have continued putting up with that. I did love those too though.

The plot, too, felt pretty bloated and unnecessary, and I love a book with not a whole lot going on. I didn't love the school play plot, but whatever. I wish there was more of the horror aspect,

Spoiler

we didn't get any sort of transformation from Virgil until the very end

. The use of werewolves as a metaphor in the text was definitely interesting, but didn't fully hit the mark for me. It's just not what I was looking for/expecting. Oh well. Still a decent read that kept me entertained during a long day at work. I'll keep searching for my perfect gay werewolf novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Gore, Vomit, Body horror, Bullying, Kidnapping, Blood, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Religious bigotry

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Sexual assault

sentunderscore's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Self harm, Homophobia, and Eating disorder

clarekistler16's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault and Homophobia

toadlovesreading's review

adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, and Body shaming

rachelditty's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

3.75

Another good read from Hutchinson. Definitely not up to the level of Love Story Set in Space or We Are the Ants, but I think I feel the same way about this that I do about Elena Mendoza: glad I read it, but not sure I'd pick it up again soon. The message was pretty clear and well done, and the ending 30 or so pages had me very engaged. Honestly, I would've loved to see Finn turn a new leaf in the spring, maybe even cultivating a friendship with Virgil and his friends. Also would have loved to see Reba appear at the end again. Good read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Self harm, Alcoholism, Blood, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

readwithanne's review

dark emotional fast-paced

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Bullying, and Body horror

Moderate: Sexual assault, Vomit, Eating disorder, and Homophobia

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-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

4.5

Virgil never wanted to move to Merritt. Away from his boyfriend, friends, and everything he knows, after his parents divorce. And now, Virgil has been attacked by a monster. Of course, no one in Merritt believes that's what actually happened. It must have been some kind of animal. Not a monster. Monsters don't exist in Merritt, or anywhere.

However, Virgil knows the truth. It was a monster who attacked him. A monster that's still out there. And in order for him to have peace of mind, he has to find it. But it just adds to Virgil's status as the new kid, an outsider. If he doesn't find the monster soon, he might just become one himself.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this to review! Shaun David Hutchinson is a favorite YA author of mine, and I think he's getting back to what everyone likes hime for! That kind of weird, surreal, is this really happening kind of fiction. The kind of book you can't always put into a genre.

What this book has going for it is it's strong analogy throughout. While it is a bit on the nose at times, using Virgil's monster attack as a symbol of sexual assault works really well. Specifically, interweaving Virigil's memories from the attack throughout, in bold print. These mimic intrusive thoughts, and flashbacks one might have if they have PTSD. The overall structure of the story, the attack, and the way people around him react is just spot on for the main comparison in the story. There also isn't a lot of YA that focuses on the sexual assault issue for boys, or in a queer context, and that definitely needs discussion, too.

Like in other Hutchinson books, there is also positive discussion about mental health. Including a positive representation of therapy. I always appreciate the way that Hutchinson approaches these topics, and it's important for teens to see this kind of representation in books. In a way, the werewolf/monster comparison works for this, too. It just works well on so many levels, especially for this story.

My only complaint is at times, the plot itself is slightly repetitive and maybe the book didn't have to be quite this long. However, this doesn't completely take away from the strong writing and characters.

All in all, I'm glad Hutchinson has gone back in this kind of direction. If the We Are the Ants era is a favorite of yours, you'll most likely love this, too!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, and Homophobia

Moderate: Gaslighting and Bullying

Minor: Sexual assault

maddiemmn's review

dark funny mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

This is a weird, weird book. Horror masquerading as YA coming of age. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Eating disorder, and Homophobia

Minor: Sexual assault

As stated by the author in the front of the book.