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gentle_garbage_baby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Grief, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Vomit
50shadesofrae's review against another edition
- 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
The last third-ish has some issues for me, but overall it was a really fascinating autopsy of the exorcist genre? And the deep voyeuristic horror of it?
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Confinement, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Murder, Self harm, Vomit, Body horror, and Suicide
Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Addiction
daniellecherny's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Excrement, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Self harm, Gaslighting, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Suicide, Torture, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Cursing, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Minor: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, and Bullying
Ending is left open/ambiguous. If you need a clear ending that explains exactly what happened, don't read this book.matcha_cat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Murder, Vomit, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Suicide
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
Minor: Excrement, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
musicmenagerie's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Child abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Body horror, Vomit, Blood, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, Alcohol, Addiction, Death, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing
caramelcaylee's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual violence, Death, Vomit, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Mental illness, Violence, Gore, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Body horror
lucylou's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Vomit, Body horror, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Death, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, and Suicide
lata's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Excrement, Sexism, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm
ilaxaria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Murder, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Self harm
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Excrement
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Violence, and Pedophilia
percys_panda_pillow_pet's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
I also felt really bad that the one who I felt more creeped out by was not Marjorie, with her gruesome stories and actions, but Merry, who seemed to take glee from her and her sister's trauma. Merry should be a somewhat reliable narrator as a kid, aside from her shoddy memory. There isn't a reason to suspect her of leaving things out. However, I felt wary all the same as Merry became known for being an exaggerator and a storyteller. There's a few reveals later on in the book that highlight this fact and it just made me very suspicious of someone who is just a very traumatized child/person.
Tremblay has done a fantastic job here with this book. A reader questioning a narrator's true feelings makes for good conversation and deeper reading. I am so torn with Merry as a character. My initial feelings were as stated above: Merry is creepy for the way she expresses her thoughts on the situation and her sister. However, after I finished the book, I couldn't help but think that maybe Merry was just trying to find her own way of understanding what all happened in her childhood, everything that led up to the greatest tragedy of her life. Afterward, all I could see was a girl-now-adult, still struggling to figure out why her sister acted the way she did, what her sister could've been thinking throughout it all.
When I started this book, the summary had not prepared me for the gruesome descriptions Tremblay employed, nor how sad a story this really was. I just felt so bad for Marjorie, more than anything. She didn't deserve anything that happened to her, and needed to be taken out of the home and cameras that were definitely making things worse. I am curious to know of other's opinions of the portrayal of schizophrenia in this book. I did not touch on it as I am not an expert on the condition, nor do I have the condition.
Graphic: Sexism, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Blood, Violence, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Self harm, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Cursing, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Drug use, Alcohol, and Child abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse and Confinement