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katerinatroyanovich's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
On the surface this book was fine. It was a page turner, went quickly, kept me guessing. The addition of illustrations throughout was an intriguing idea that added an element of creepiness that I enjoyed. But I can’t get the weird micro aggressions out of my head: Stereotypical characters of color like caricatures - you’re going to make the one Latinx family landscapers that have all mission style furniture? And the one Asian character draw whiskers on her face and love anime? Also weird ideas about atheism - I’ve never met an atheist who was so intense about not celebrating holidays or letting their kid believe in the tooth fairy. Nor have I met an atheist that is happy to show their five year old graphic anatomy books that ALSO explain anal sex and cunnilingus. Wtf? And am I crazy or did the author manage to squeeze in an opinion on the gender binary? Was this transphobic? I don’t even know what I just read. Damn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Addiction, and Racism
elizajane99's review against another edition
Racist, sexist, and absolutely transphobic. Red flags went off in the beginning. I should’ve listened to myself. Glad I read a library ebook and didn’t give my money to a harmful cause.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Transphobia
emadisonc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
“We don’t know how much our bodies can endure until we make cruel demands of them.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Addiction, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Infertility and Transphobia
brina's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Racism, Transphobia, and Murder
spacebee's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
If you want to read a not so subtle right wing nonsense book, go for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
cort_kaye's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Transphobia, and Drug abuse
xtrememonotreme's review against another edition
3.0
I originally rated this book 4.75 stars. I lowered it after 24 hours because I took some time to reflect on certain things in the book.
The way the author made the atheist characters caricatures of atheist people and the bad guys, while the racist side character is a victim by the end. A lot of the shocking stuff they do sounds a lot like what conservatives claim about drag shows and (other) LGBT communities (seriously who would buy a 5yr old a book that discussed anal and oral sex????). It didn’t really sit well with me considering the other themes in the book
It’s a well written and spooky book with some really good pictures hence my original rating but part of it did read like right wing fear mongering with some light fatphobia sprinkled in.
It’s a well written and spooky book with some really good pictures hence my original rating but part of it did read like right wing fear mongering with some light fatphobia sprinkled in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Kidnapping, Transphobia, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child death, Xenophobia, Racism, Fatphobia, and Drug abuse
sareebeth's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Transphobia, and Murder
throwback682's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Edited: I initially thought I didn’t know if I liked it or not but after telling my partner about it and reading other reviews… I hate it. The half star is for the audiobook narrator who I thought did a great job. This book is a heavy handed morality tale a la after school specials, disguised as a ghost story. It’s transphobic, for one thing. The people that turn out to be the bad guys are liberals who force their kid into gender transition against their will??? Gross. Just one example of the right wing propaganda in this novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Child death
There is a content warning that I can’t give without spoiling a major plot point. If you have a marginalized identity or might be sensitive to topics related to marginalized identities, I’ll say which one it’s related to here:egnolan's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, and Sexual violence
Minor: Transphobia