Reviews

Evil, by Jack Ketchum

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whsths's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

4.25

razorsharpredhead's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.25

c0urtn3yy's review against another edition

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5.0

Oof; this was a hard read. A very hard read. Not physically, but emotionally. I had seen this movie a few years after it came out - so it's been awhile - but it left quite an impression; the story has stuck with me ever since. I will not watch it again, but I did want to read the book. So finally, 10ish years later, I did it. Excellent writing - it makes you get emotionally invested, especially when you don't want to. If you didn't know, this book is loosely based on the actual murder of Sylvia Likens back in 1965 - an absolutely heart wrenching look-up if you feel compelled to do so. The articles are hard to read &, in my opinion, justice was not served. I think Ketchum did a great job of making you feel SO much hate for everyone involved & then delivering with quite possibly the most unfair resolution... & that's exactly how the real story makes you feel too. It makes you hate it even more. There are SO many questions that rattle through your brain while reading this book - literally why didn't anyone say anything or do something to stop it sooner. It should not have gotten that far without someone at least questioning it. I get that they're kids, but the ease in which they all slipped into character was frightening. Reminded me a bit of The Stanford Prison Experiment, which if you're not familiar is an actual experiment conducted to see how easily good people turn evil... Spoiler alert: it's horrifically easy. I also think Ketchum made a GENIUS decision to write this story from the neighbor's point of view. Because you KNOW it was worse than what little glimpses we got. Anyway. If anything else, this story is a great lesson on why you should speak up & stand up for others - even if it's scary. Somebody has to be the first one & you might be surprised how many follow suit if you do. 10/10. Will not read again.

kelseyklein's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

canaryp's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad

3.0

I'm giving it 3 because 2 feels too low but I really didn't like this book. It was well written, in terms of tone, the consistent narrator voice giving retrospect as well as genuine confusion of a child, but beyond that....

It felt very.. intrusive to write about Sylvia Likens story like this. Voyeuristic, focusing on the emotions of some guy who wanted to fuck her rather than the girl herself. Making Meg's untimely death the story of how sad some guy is about it feels just gross. As well, the author's morality was set up weirdly - at times he was desperate to help, at others, he loved the torture, idk it felt like the author couldn't decide if we were meant to sympathise or not

novelfella's review against another edition

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5.0

I’m kind of ashamed to admit how much I enjoyed this book. It’s written very well considering the subject matter which is based on the true story of Slyvia Likens.
The story itself is disgusting and upsetting and the moral ambiguity of David is rather jaw-dropping.
If you’re looking for a book that will shake your soul to the core and leave you feeling dirty, look no further.