Scan barcode
punkrockbenji's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, and Abandonment
rowena0528's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Fatphobia, Medical content, and Car accident
seershlen's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Drug use
Minor: Addiction, Pedophilia, and Abandonment
rinitealeaf's review against another edition
It started well, idea was good and I enjoyed Joe Hill's other two books I've read.
But alas, I was disappointed.
Some of the characters felt really icky, I mean yes it's a horror book but..
And around when Vic met Lou I started to have doubts that I would not finish this.
Joe Hill was so focused on telling us how fat Lou was and how his dad was fat and it was just Jesus Fuck. I counted that on one page the word "fat" was mentioned like 5 times..
(I don't understand how it's added only as "minor" CW by the users here 😒🤔
Good idea, some good characters but poor writing couldn't save.
I got to 51%, final nail in the coffin was when Manx
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Rape
Minor: Racial slurs and Sexual assault
spookybenji's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Torture, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Minor: Mental illness, Sexual content, Medical content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
rahiho's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Vomit
jessithepapernerd's review against another edition
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
lbracs's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
joshkiba13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Who knew Christmas could be so creepy?? I'm honestly left quite stunned by this book. Its creep factor was dialed up to 11-- by far the creepiest story I've ever read. And at the same time it had such heart to it.
I felt that the story was utterly unique. The opening passages are frightening and foreboding, and I love how we jumped back in time from that point and resumed there later on.
Charlie Manx was a scary bad guy for sure, but his right-hand man, Bing Partridge (aka the Gas Mask Man) was even creepier in my opinion. The first chapters where we're introduced to Bing were among the most off-putting sections of the novel.
I loooved our protagonist Vic McQueen. We follow her from childhood and into adulthood. She is probably the most nuanced and heavily flawed character I've read of. In the Author's Note following the audiobook, Joe Hill explained his dislike for stories where the heroes are double-do-gooders, or something like that, and how he sought to write realistic and flawed "good guys." He absolutely succeeded in my opinion, with Vic and the cast of side characters like Maggie Leigh and Lou Carmody. We are able to cheer them on as they succeed in things, and mourn as they make awful (but real) decisions.
I loved how absolutely off the concept of Christmas became as the book developed--kind of like if The Nightmare Before Christmas was rated R. Beyond the horrifying effects of Charlie Manx's powers, even something as simple as hearing Christmas music beyond the bounds of winter (a common occurrence during the story) became scary. I loved this line: "There was something awful about Christmas music when it was nearly summer. It was like a clown in the rain, with his makeup running."
Hill's dialogue was snappy and clever; his prose and descriptions were unique and often (positively) unconventional. And I absolutely loved his takes on imagination and the mind, as seen in the snippet I opened with, as well as this one:
"Everyone lives in two worlds . . . There's the real world . . . But everyone also lives in the world inside their own head: An in-scape, a world of thought . . . Creative people . . . spend a lot of their time hanging out in their thought-world. Strong creatives though can use a knife to cut the stitches between the two worlds, can bring them together."
The book can definitely get a little out there in some places, but I honestly think the weird served to its benefit. The only part that made me wince in a truly uncomfortable way was Hill referencing a few real-life tragedies to serve a scene where a character was becoming demented. I love a good corruption arc (such as in "Apt Pupil" by Stephen King), but I found the allusions to real tragedies a tad distasteful. Didn't ruin it for me at all, just something I didn't care for.
Overall one of the best audiobooks I've listened to, I absolutely have to hand it to Kate Mulgrew for knocking it OUT of the park with her narration. Manx's voice was gritty and cold, Bing's was off-putting and creepily child-like, and she did Maggie Leigh's stutter so well. Her children voices were well done too, and successfully creepy when necessary. Above all I have to appreciate how when a character was yelling, she yelled and didn't just whisper-yell like some narrators do.
Solid book and sooolid audio 👌
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment
Minor: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
phoenix13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, and Kidnapping