A review by umbellule
One's Company by Ashley Hutson

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

deeply strange, frightening, extremely well-written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

There are two animals in this book. The dog

is neglected, underfed, and then runs away. We never know what happens to it, but there's a town nearby and it's likely that it found a new (better) family.

The bird

is generally underappreciated but not abused. It dies offscreen, instantly, when its cage is struck by lightning.

There are also mentions of hunting, but no dead animals are shown related to that.