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ashleycmms's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Body horror
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Animal death
Minor: Child death
eleanormair's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Minor: Child death, Xenophobia, and Racism
ghostams's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Absolutely loved this book! It was an insanely amazing mix of folklore, family history, isolating energy, small town vibes, and childhood-level fear. Definitely a book I wish I could forget, just to read again, even though it was terrifying in the best way. Plus, the characters are so unique while being regular folk. Also, the dog doesn't die and is arguably the hero!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Mental illness and Grief
Minor: Racism, Emotional abuse, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Confinement, Child death, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, and Death
breazatoth's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Satisfying Appalachian folk horror, complete with roots of where some of our monsters began. Ending didn't hold up to the rest of the book, but the cast of characters was the shining star.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Dementia
Minor: Domestic abuse, Child death, and Death of parent
j_squaredd's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Child death, and Animal death
Minor: Death of parent and Gore
amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved the uniqueness of this world and all the characters, especially Bongo.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death and Body horror
Minor: Child death
_thelitlibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
4.25 stars
-
TW: Body Horror, Animal Death, Fire/Fire Injury, Death, Confinement, Toxic Relationship, Child Death, Infertility, Racism.
-
A modern folklore-horror take on a classic, this was a good retelling with loads of spooks, sprinkled with a dash of humour. I opted to listen to this via audio and let me tell you, I was constantly looking around to make sure I was alone! After the death of her grandmother Mouse is tasked with returning back to her home in hopes of cleaning and selling the home, at first it doesn't sound like a bad deal but we soon discover that grandma was a hoarder. As Mouse cleans she starts to uncover sinister secrets about the things in the woods. Mouse starts to realize her mistake in coming back - and wonders if sticking around is even worth it.
Although the plot is filled with impossibilities, the level of terror I felt was unreal. Just when I felt like I had things figured out something was thrown into the loop to throw us offguard. I really enjoyed the surrounding cast of characters including Foxy (a neighbour from the surrounding area), and her guard dog Bongo. The added presence of 'safe' characters was what Mouse needed, and also allowed the author to include humourous moments/dialogue in such a serious story. I will say that the 'horror' element (monster) was a tad far-fetched and out of this world, had it been something that could possibly happen in life I would have been a bit more scared! The book has a large buildup that left me a little let down at the end, I feel like the ending was a bit rushed and could have been more action-packed.
Overall this was a great horror read, that kept me captivated until the final moments.
-
TW: Body Horror, Animal Death, Fire/Fire Injury, Death, Confinement, Toxic Relationship, Child Death, Infertility, Racism.
-
A modern folklore-horror take on a classic, this was a good retelling with loads of spooks, sprinkled with a dash of humour. I opted to listen to this via audio and let me tell you, I was constantly looking around to make sure I was alone! After the death of her grandmother Mouse is tasked with returning back to her home in hopes of cleaning and selling the home, at first it doesn't sound like a bad deal but we soon discover that grandma was a hoarder. As Mouse cleans she starts to uncover sinister secrets about the things in the woods. Mouse starts to realize her mistake in coming back - and wonders if sticking around is even worth it.
Although the plot is filled with impossibilities, the level of terror I felt was unreal. Just when I felt like I had things figured out something was thrown into the loop to throw us offguard. I really enjoyed the surrounding cast of characters including Foxy (a neighbour from the surrounding area), and her guard dog Bongo. The added presence of 'safe' characters was what Mouse needed, and also allowed the author to include humourous moments/dialogue in such a serious story. I will say that the 'horror' element (monster) was a tad far-fetched and out of this world, had it been something that could possibly happen in life I would have been a bit more scared! The book has a large buildup that left me a little let down at the end, I feel like the ending was a bit rushed and could have been more action-packed.
Overall this was a great horror read, that kept me captivated until the final moments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Body horror, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Death, Child death, and Racism
gih's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Very interesting worldbuilding. Unfortunately the protagonist reacts very realistically to the horrors, i.e. she's always close to a full mental breakdown, which doesn't make for a very fun read. Would have been more interesting if Mouse had died at the end, or stayed in Anna's place. Honestly, I'd have loved this story so much more if it had been from Anna's pov.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Dementia
Minor: Child death, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, and Slavery
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
THE TWISTED ONES combines the mundane drudgery and strangeness of cleaning out a hoarder's house with the fantastical creepiness of a technically-not-haunted forest with twisted rocks and strange effigies.
I appreciate the way that the framing clearly situates this as a story being told after the narrator and her dog have survived the events in question, it would be a monumentally more stressful story if I'd had to wonder whether the dog dies. The dread lies instead in the very large gap between surviving and escaping unscathed, and in the pages upon pages of descriptions of what was in this particular hoarder's house. It ratcheted up the tension by inches, as the intensity of the supernatural events increased periodically while the sheer volume and detail of the house's contents were a steady drip of very plausible weirdness.
The main character, Mouse, is a great narrator, with the quirkiness of specificity bringing a great style to her asides and characterizations. Bongo (the dog) comes through so well in her descriptions, doing things that make sense for who he is as a dog, even (or perhaps especially) when such actions complement the narrative as a thriller. The secondary characters are detailed enough to feel like full people without distracting from the main events, and I like the group who helps her out towards the end (Foxy's my favorite).
There's a particular litany, both read and thought by Mouse, which gradually turned into an earworm in my own thoughts in a way that makes the horror even more effective. It made it feel like the book was escaping its confines, or at the very least it makes it alarmingly plausible that Mouse could be just the latest in a line of people who became stuck on that refrain.
The ending is terrifying, bringing together the more mundane horror of a hoarder's house together with the supernatural elements in a fantastically scary climax. It had felt like the collection of stuff and the creepy things outside were two separate worlds but the meeting between them was one of the scariest things I've read in a while. The final scenes at the house are absolutely chilling, leading to an resolution that feels just as right as it is weird and sad.
I appreciate the way that the framing clearly situates this as a story being told after the narrator and her dog have survived the events in question, it would be a monumentally more stressful story if I'd had to wonder whether the dog dies. The dread lies instead in the very large gap between surviving and escaping unscathed, and in the pages upon pages of descriptions of what was in this particular hoarder's house. It ratcheted up the tension by inches, as the intensity of the supernatural events increased periodically while the sheer volume and detail of the house's contents were a steady drip of very plausible weirdness.
The main character, Mouse, is a great narrator, with the quirkiness of specificity bringing a great style to her asides and characterizations. Bongo (the dog) comes through so well in her descriptions, doing things that make sense for who he is as a dog, even (or perhaps especially) when such actions complement the narrative as a thriller. The secondary characters are detailed enough to feel like full people without distracting from the main events, and I like the group who helps her out towards the end (Foxy's my favorite).
There's a particular litany, both read and thought by Mouse, which gradually turned into an earworm in my own thoughts in a way that makes the horror even more effective. It made it feel like the book was escaping its confines, or at the very least it makes it alarmingly plausible that Mouse could be just the latest in a line of people who became stuck on that refrain.
The ending is terrifying, bringing together the more mundane horror of a hoarder's house together with the supernatural elements in a fantastically scary climax. It had felt like the collection of stuff and the creepy things outside were two separate worlds but the meeting between them was one of the scariest things I've read in a while. The final scenes at the house are absolutely chilling, leading to an resolution that feels just as right as it is weird and sad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death
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