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dajul73's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
anima_vestaa'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
Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Grief, and Murder
wannabe_lee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Rape, Car accident, Abandonment, and Alcohol
loxeletters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It was quite depressing at times, which is why I couldn't rate this as "funny" even though the satirical aspects worked well. I guess that is the horror of this book for me - I wasn't very affected by the gore, I was never really scared, more just very depressed by the ongoing loneliness of our MC.
I can't say I could've guessed most of the major twists, which is a plus :)
Speaking of which, I agree that it's quite disorienting and difficult to figure out what is real and what isn't, but I think that's the point. I mean... They even discuss in the book how disorientation can be valuable for writing lol.
I did think the final scene was maybe a bit too clean-cut.
But this is somewhat nit-picky!
My second issue was the prose - overall it was good, but some phrasings were a bit repetitive for me. Maybe some adjectives could've been cut out as well. But that's just my personal taste, I think.
Overall, a very interesting book, which leaves you questioning what is real and what isn't, while providing some much-needed cultural criticism — exactly my cup of tea!
Graphic: Animal death, Drug abuse, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gore, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content and Car accident
deadbelle'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
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Self harm, and Stalking
kaylawtzl22's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
bt_wannabe's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Addiction and Sexual content
kijatai'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? Yes
4.5
I really liked the narrator, Sophie Amoss. I felt like I was in the head of the main character when she was narrating and I could easily picture all the different characters by the voices she used. Her voice is also soothing.
As for the story itself, I loved it. What I actually enjoyed about it was the psychology of the main character and the depiction of creative block and the depression that can be linked to it. I’m an artist and I could relate to some things she said. How we can feel like an impostor sometimes and feel blocked or not good enough and then craving a connection to others to get out of our self-made isolation but also not wanting to.
I liked how all Sam’s emotions : fear, uncertainty, desires… were represented. Without spoiling anything, I interpreted the rituals depicted (please check content warnings) in the book more as a representation of creativity and desire. And I thought it was really interesting.
It has strong dark academia vibes. Which I’m a sucker for. I like also exploring the mentality and struggles behind cults and this book definitely and intimately explores that. It has mean girl vibes and it was nice to see how the author explores the meaning of sisterhood, girlhood, love and desires.
The relationship between Ava and Sam was what kept me hooked. I hoped for more to be honest but I won’t spoil too much. I guess that their relationship is… complex.
I’m definitely gonna get a physical copy, re-read it and annotate the hell out of it.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
annamgoodman'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
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
mushroom_frog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
My understanding of the book is as such:
I don't usually write such long reviews but this book had me utterly captivated. Not for those who get want everything to be set out clearly from start to finish, and dislike loose ends.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol