eeriekeri'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, and Child abuse
Moderate: Body horror, Murder, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Torture, and Homophobia
Minor: Kidnapping and Confinement
rhaydragon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Car accident, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Violence, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Stalking, Sexism, Ableism, Animal death, and Outing
Minor: Domestic abuse
discarded_dust_jacket's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Having been raised Evangelical, this hit particularly close to home, especially in the way that it depicts the type of psychological conditioning and manipulation employed by the Church as a means of control.
For instance, the genuine fear and distrust of one’s own thoughts and natural impulses; the constant sense of being surveilled by some unseen entity, be it God or Satan (who is always on the prowl for an opening to possess your soul); the looming threat of eternal damnation; the discouragement of curiosity for the sake of remaining ignorant and dependent on faith; etc.
This book does such a good job of portraying the slow, unsettling experience of beginning to notice how the things around you—that you’ve accepted as normal your entire life—suddenly seem wrong, ridiculous, or at worst, downright sinister. It also addresses the various ways someone who grew up in the church, then left it, might grapple with a) their relationship with God/faith, and b) their guilt over their involvement with the Church at all. (It reminds me of that “I’m sorry for the things I said as an Evangelical teenager” photo that went viral.)
Most importantly, this is a book about regaining one’s autonomy and sense of self. I LOVED that about it.
But while I enjoy stories that hold up a mirror to my own trauma because I find them validating, I also recognize that this book depicts a horror that some people have actually lived: conversion therapy camp. So I understand if that’s just too much for some folks.
Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Death, Homophobia, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Drug use, and Gun violence
Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, and Kidnapping
_meeg's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Stalking, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Biphobia, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Torture, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Gore, Car accident, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Confinement
chrobin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Torture, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Self harm, Bullying, Car accident, Confinement, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Violence, and Vomit
kit666's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Spoiler
I loved the way autism is represented here. It's not positive or negative or Rose's only trait. It's just a part of her. Same with the queer representation. Being queer in a religious setting is already horror in the real world and I think Tingle has woven a fantastically horrific supernatural element into it. I would love to know more about the demons and hell and everything that goes on down there. Who do they serve? Is Camp Damascus the only camp of its kind? What's the history behind it all? Did the demon's get the campers families too? Did the other campers regain their memories? I'd love to read a sequel!The parts with the flies were especially disgusting and horrific to me. Loved it! So disgusting! When they crawled out of Dr. Smith's tear ducts I had to rub my eyes to remind myself that it wasn't happening to me.
I also loved the spin on hell being cold and demons being killed by fire. I'm sure it's been done lots of times, but it was a first for me and super interesting.
The entire found family aspect was heartwarming. The bond between Willow and Rose still remaining after all this trauma and them not immediately going back to "before" when they met again was lovely. It draws you in, when something so human happens.
A lovely found family supernatural horror book. I loved it!
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Kidnapping and Murder
Minor: Drug use, Gore, Medical content, Confinement, Torture, Deadnaming, and Gun violence
thebearnest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, and Confinement
keen's review
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, and Death
Minor: Ableism, Confinement, and Kidnapping
asajii'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Car accident, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Vomit, Abandonment, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, and Kidnapping
fens_library's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Death, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Hate crime, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders