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michleea's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, and Death
Moderate: Child death and Self harm
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
alylentz's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
This is a great pick for the month of October (the climax also takes place on Halloween). A really solid horror recommendation for YA readers who are getting into horror and looking for something more on the atmospheric side as opposed to gore or jump scares, mixed with a little bit of mystery and family drama.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, and Grief
sunsetcity's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
lish_e's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“And when she was good,
She was very, very good,
But when she was bad, she was horrid.”
Jane’s habit of eating pages was interesting, and the cover is absolutely gorgeous.
But it had some elements that are often used (girl moves to a different town, into an old house that has a dark history everybody knows but no one talks about) and so the plot twist wasn’t a surprise to me. Still, it was a pleasant read and the build-up to the climax was good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Eating disorder, Bullying, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Animal cruelty and Suicide
francesjanviers's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Child death and Murder
leahrosereads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
While there were some genuinely creepy parts, on the whole this was pretty predictable. I also felt like it needed to be at least 30-50 more pages to develop some inconsistencies and characters, or it needed to be edited down by about that many pages. There were just several holes in the plot, unnecessary characters and not enough development on the horror elements.
I loved the main character's descent in here though. It was maybe the most ominous part of the story.
I loved the main character's descent in here though. It was maybe the most ominous part of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
sunshinestark's review against another edition
3.0
Horrid is a story filled with grief and ghosts that blurs the line between what's real and what's not, leaving you to wonder whether Jane's haunting is the result of mental illness or the dead who can't - or won't - move on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
sacrificarelepus's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I'm not really sure what to say about this book, it kept me intrigued enough to continue reading even though I felt the slow build up was a little much. almost 100 pages before I felt it become more than just a slice of life. And the surprise twist, well the world that was built up leaves me feeling that the suspension of disbelief I would have to put up to think that could actually happen. Then again this might be one of those horrors where you are supposed to think either this is actually happening OR this person is having a break with reality. And I'm not really a fan of those, I prefer to solidly know whether this is "real" or not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Mental illness
pseudoliterature's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.5
If there is one thing I'd like to highlight is Katrina Leno's writing, and her ability to write atmospheres and moods in her books. Each of her stories have such a distinctive feeling to them, her magical realism feels mundane in the best way possible, creating these worlds that you feel you might find just around the corner.
However, this book doesn't get the full 5 stars for one reason in particular, and that is the amount of gaslighting in it. This is a completely personal reading taste situation, where this topic in particular is very triggering for me as an individual, it built such a level of anxiety that there where parts of the book that I just couldn't enjoy, even if thought they were well written and did work as important parts of the story as a whole. I can understand the decision she made, story wise, and the anxiety she purposefully creates is part of the mood she builds with this story, it work for the content of the book, and if you don't have troubles reading some motherly gaslighting then I don't think this is going to be something that sours your experience.
Besides that, this is a great book, highly inspired by Agatha Christie (in a not so subtle way) and her frustration building techniques. I'm really excited to see what she writes next
However, this book doesn't get the full 5 stars for one reason in particular, and that is the amount of gaslighting in it. This is a completely personal reading taste situation, where this topic in particular is very triggering for me as an individual, it built such a level of anxiety that there where parts of the book that I just couldn't enjoy, even if thought they were well written and did work as important parts of the story as a whole. I can understand the decision she made, story wise, and the anxiety she purposefully creates is part of the mood she builds with this story, it work for the content of the book, and if you don't have troubles reading some motherly gaslighting then I don't think this is going to be something that sours your experience.
Besides that, this is a great book, highly inspired by Agatha Christie (in a not so subtle way) and her frustration building techniques. I'm really excited to see what she writes next
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Minor: Emotional abuse
shannonxvx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Violence, Suicide, Mental illness, and Grief