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emilyrainsford's review against another edition
I enjoy this author's Tiktok videos and thought the title was funny and clever. I genuinely thought I would like this book. By the end of the prologue, I knew I was wrong. It was one of the stupidest things I've ever read. And I have a very immature sense of humour, but this just felt off in a way that's hard to put my finger on. The moment when the basement door handle turned into a penis which caused them to be locked in a dangerous situation because the protagonist was too much of a damn child to touch a peen was where it started to go downhill. Moments later, the basement was filling with literal shit for apparently no other reason than "hehe poopoo funny". Then a pile of frozen meat turned into an ambulatory creature and I knew this was all just way too stupid for me. And as I say, it's not that I have a high brow sense of humour. I thought Percy Jackson was hilarious and it's literally written for 12 year old boys. This just all felt like it was trying too hard.
I decided to give it a chance and started on chapter one and was absolutely shocked by a casual and joking use of the N word with hard "r" for no good reason at all?? Then repeated paragraphs about the protagonist obsessing over the "Asian waitress"'s boobs.
I looked up reviews to see if it was going to get better, and learnt that apparently the R word is used later in the book, in reference to a girl the protagonist thought was autistic, and when it turns out she's actually "just" depressed, he decides he's attracted to her.
I am honestly shocked, I thought the author's Tiktoks were intelligent and insightful, and now I can't even watch them anymore, knowing the creator of them wrote this steaming pile of edgelord garbage.
I decided to give it a chance and started on chapter one and was absolutely shocked by a casual and joking use of the N word with hard "r" for no good reason at all?? Then repeated paragraphs about the protagonist obsessing over the "Asian waitress"'s boobs.
I looked up reviews to see if it was going to get better, and learnt that apparently the R word is used later in the book, in reference to a girl the protagonist thought was autistic, and when it turns out she's actually "just" depressed, he decides he's attracted to her.
I am honestly shocked, I thought the author's Tiktoks were intelligent and insightful, and now I can't even watch them anymore, knowing the creator of them wrote this steaming pile of edgelord garbage.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Ableism, Body horror, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Gore, Car accident, and Homophobia
gawdz0rz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
3.5
the book was pretty funny. the story was weird but interesting. will probably read the next book.
very obviously written in 2007, especially with its usage of ableist and homophobic slurs and how edgy the characters were. also feels like the author just really wanted to use the n-slur and found excuses to do so??
does dude have a thing for farting? he talks about it so much. like, way too much.
the columbine comparison was off because the columbine kids were not bullied, they were the bullies.
not great to have the alien language compared to hebrew!
very obviously written in 2007, especially with its usage of ableist and homophobic slurs and how edgy the characters were. also feels like the author just really wanted to use the n-slur and found excuses to do so??
does dude have a thing for farting? he talks about it so much. like, way too much.
the columbine comparison was off because the columbine kids were not bullied, they were the bullies.
not great to have the alien language compared to hebrew!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Animal death, Ableism, Excrement, and Racism
Minor: Islamophobia, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Vomit, and Suicide
tons of bugs. roaches and spiders.mnemosyne139's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
1.75
The rating I gave this book is purely due to my enjoyment of the plot. And I actually wish o could bring myself to continue the series. But I CANNOT get behind the author's repeated use of the R and N (with a hard r) words (and to a lesser extent, but still very noticeable and not addressed, homophobic slurs). They didn't add anything to the story, and they could have been edited out. There's even an addendum in the special edition where he states the language is the most common piece of negative feedback he has received, but for some reason only addresses traditional cursing and not the actually offensive words. And even then he just says it's a product of the time and he's not going to change it. In no time were these terms NOT offensive, so I honestly see that response as total BS. I'm really sad that I won't be able to continue the series because I actually enjoy the story, but the author definitely "gives me the ick" and I will not be reading anything else from him.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Ableism, and Homophobia
deltaupright's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I enjoyed this book, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone. Listing all of the content warnings this book needs would be nearly as long as the book itself, so the broad strokes are:
The main character is not a good person. He isn't meant to be, but it can be kind of tough hearing it in the first person. Imagine an early 20s white dude with working a dead end job in a middle of nowhere town in the early 2000s, and you've probably got a good idea. At one point early in the story he's complaining about his town and saying that they've got "too many jokes containing the n-word" except, you know. He just says the n-word, and that feels like a good way to sum up what kind of person the main character is.
In a weird twist of fate, if you're not sure this book is for you, I'd recommend watching the movie first. A lot of the bigotry has been toned down, but the absurdity, gore, and body horror remain for the most part the same, and it's honestly a very faithful adaptation. If you like the movie, the book is that, dialed up to 11. If you hate the movie, the book will probably make you want to scream.
The main character is not a good person. He isn't meant to be, but it can be kind of tough hearing it in the first person. Imagine an early 20s white dude with working a dead end job in a middle of nowhere town in the early 2000s, and you've probably got a good idea. At one point early in the story he's complaining about his town and saying that they've got "too many jokes containing the n-word" except, you know. He just says the n-word, and that feels like a good way to sum up what kind of person the main character is.
In a weird twist of fate, if you're not sure this book is for you, I'd recommend watching the movie first. A lot of the bigotry has been toned down, but the absurdity, gore, and body horror remain for the most part the same, and it's honestly a very faithful adaptation. If you like the movie, the book is that, dialed up to 11. If you hate the movie, the book will probably make you want to scream.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Ableism, Racism, Violence, Body horror, and Gore
ok_now_what's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, and Homophobia
jkpiowa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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: Gun violence, Gore, Animal cruelty, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Ableism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
espea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexism, Violence, Death, Bullying, Racial slurs, Cursing, Body horror, Murder, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Gun violence, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Mental illness
schnaucl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I felt through most of my the book that it just wasn't for me. It wasn't bad, or badly written, I just didn't click with it. I eventually warmed up to it, enough that I may seek out the next book in the series (though given my lengthy TBR pile, maybe not).
It's very surreal and frantic. Parts of it definitely remind me of a video game.
A word of warning, there are a a couple slurs thrown around pretty regularly that were more socially acceptable (at least among boys of a certain age) back when the book was written but that are jarring to read now.
There's also some animal death.
I think part of what turned me around was realizing that while John may have spoken and sometimes acted more immaturely than David, he was perhaps kinder and definitely understood people better. I think he was smarter, too.
It's very surreal and frantic. Parts of it definitely remind me of a video game.
A word of warning, there are a a couple slurs thrown around pretty regularly that were more socially acceptable (at least among boys of a certain age) back when the book was written but that are jarring to read now.
There's also some animal death.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Gore, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Ableism
Minor: Car accident, Bullying, Drug use, and Homophobia
juledebaum2's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Racial slurs
Minor: Antisemitism, Homophobia, and Sexism
cheetah26's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Body horror, Drug abuse, Gore, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Excrement and Mental illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Homophobia