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ohmadeline's review against another edition
dark
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
5.0
drascua's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
aleronx's review against another edition
2.0
Jesus Christ.
I was recommended this by a friend, and the only thing I went in knowing was that there was incest, because it is notoriously about that. I thought “it’s critically acclaimed though right? I hear about it all the time and how people had to read it in school, so it must have a lot to it to overlook the incest”
No. No it did not. Not only was this boring as hell, with little to no tension to keep me going, but in fact it is barely more than torture porn of children. I want to say that it had a good message of resilience and survival by seeing the beauty in a terrible situation, and I know we had dozens of pages of just children interacting as they would, but that is far overshadowed by everything else.
I give it two stars for its criticism of religion and its apt exploration of the psychological consequences of child neglect, and the way that siblings become a pseudo family to cope. Plus the “twist” that Chris discovers in the end, although predictable, still managed to hurt me despite it all.
It loses 3 stars for being boring, the dialogue unbelievable even for the time it was set and written, and of course due to being garishly fetishist in nature.
I was recommended this by a friend, and the only thing I went in knowing was that there was incest, because it is notoriously about that. I thought “it’s critically acclaimed though right? I hear about it all the time and how people had to read it in school, so it must have a lot to it to overlook the incest”
No. No it did not. Not only was this boring as hell, with little to no tension to keep me going, but in fact it is barely more than torture porn of children. I want to say that it had a good message of resilience and survival by seeing the beauty in a terrible situation, and I know we had dozens of pages of just children interacting as they would, but that is far overshadowed by everything else.
I give it two stars for its criticism of religion and its apt exploration of the psychological consequences of child neglect, and the way that siblings become a pseudo family to cope. Plus the “twist” that Chris discovers in the end, although predictable, still managed to hurt me despite it all.
It loses 3 stars for being boring, the dialogue unbelievable even for the time it was set and written, and of course due to being garishly fetishist in nature.
thehaylflayl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Murder, Child death, Child abuse, Incest, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Rape, Confinement, Car accident, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Vomit
lwds's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
thespinystacks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
suklaa's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Fucking disturbing and I generally love dark themes but this one if truly the peak darkness. It's a very interesting read and it's definitely gonna haunt you after you're done reading. I can't believe y'all read this when you were kids!!!???? I'm deeply disturbed as an adult, I can't even imagine how this would've affected me when I was a kid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Abandonment, Sexual assault, and Animal death
elysehdez19's review against another edition
5.0
5.5
Tengo tanto para decir y siento que nunca será suficiente... Es un libro excelente!!
Tengo tanto para decir y siento que nunca será suficiente... Es un libro excelente!!
arnette19's review against another edition
5.0
Questo libro è stato per me un pugno nello stomaco. Mi ha fatto commuovere, mi ha fatto arrabbiare, mi ha fatto sperare, ha distrutto le speranze e ha pure infierito. Mentre leggevo ero in quella soffitta insieme a Chris, Cathy, Cory e Carrie e soffrivo con loro. A tratti la storia è un po' prevedibile ma mi ha colto di sorpresa lo stesso perché mi dicevo "Sono sicura che questa faccenda finirà così" e quindi in un certo senso ero preparata ma in fondo speravo davvero che le cose sarebbero andate diversamente, tanto che finivo per crederci; e invece arrivava la pugnalata al cuore.
Leggendo altre recensioni mi pare di capire che in America questo libro è stato letto da un gran numero di persone in età pre-adolescenziale. Se lo avessi letto a quell'età credo che non lo avrei apprezzato completamente, forse l'avrei considerato e ricordato solo come un libro molto triste. Avendolo letto in età adulta, ho colto delle sfumature che forse mi sarebbero sfuggite e il risultato è stato quello di trovarmi alla fine del libro con il cuore spezzato.
È il primo di una serie di cui in Italia sono stati tradotti solo i primi due volumi, ora devo decidere se buttarmi a capofitto sul secondo o riprendere fiato per fare rimarginare le ferite.
Leggendo altre recensioni mi pare di capire che in America questo libro è stato letto da un gran numero di persone in età pre-adolescenziale. Se lo avessi letto a quell'età credo che non lo avrei apprezzato completamente, forse l'avrei considerato e ricordato solo come un libro molto triste. Avendolo letto in età adulta, ho colto delle sfumature che forse mi sarebbero sfuggite e il risultato è stato quello di trovarmi alla fine del libro con il cuore spezzato.
È il primo di una serie di cui in Italia sono stati tradotti solo i primi due volumi, ora devo decidere se buttarmi a capofitto sul secondo o riprendere fiato per fare rimarginare le ferite.
lolamuy's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
2.5
Heartbreaking story. I didn't know the themes before going in so it was even more shattering. Mainly I would describe it as bleak. Ultimately, this book was not for me, but I finished it because I wanted to know if the kids were going to manage to escape .