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Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'
Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy
33 reviews
dehernandez3169's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Written by a man, Nat Cassidy was able to write exactly what it is like being a woman, especially a middle aged woman. There were time where I had to put the book down just to process how he was able to capture everything so perfectly.
The horror is JUST as good as feminist points. It is a rollercoaster and I had no idea how things where going to go.
Read it. Just... Read it. (Or listen to the audio book. It just as fantastic.)
Graphic: Misogyny, Mental illness, and Body horror
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, and Emotional abuse
_meeg's review against another edition
Graphic: Ableism, Sexism, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Grief, Suicide, Death, Murder, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Drug use, Addiction, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Cursing, Excrement, Gore, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts
alexisgarcia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, and Grief
cold_boy'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
4.0
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual violence, Murder, Torture, Violence, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Sexual assault, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Physical abuse
toofondofbooks_'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
This book took awhile for me because it was just a lot. It was a lot emotionally and the writing was the kind of writing that demanded my full attention, so while I read this I couldn't be around people or multitasking. it had to just be me and Mary. I'm glad I took my time, and I'm glad I experienced it this way, and a couple of times I felt chills go down my spine at certain horror elements that I will not disclose here. I enjoyed the themes all throughout and wrote down a bunch of quotes in my journal. The afterword is also required reading for anyone who is brave enough to get to the end.
My main critique is that there were some scenes that really dragged and I think that if they had the fat trimmed off of them, they'd be more effective and the book wouldn't need to be as long.
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Death, Fatphobia, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Gore, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Bullying, Cursing, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
mychemegan'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
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexism
roxfoxreads89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I know the undertone of this book is misogyny. It felt like the author was mansplaining misogyny to me.
Main character was annoying. To the point where I didn’t want to experience the book with her anymore.
Graphic: Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Animal death, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Gore
moiralyle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Mental illness, Gore, Blood, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Death, Cursing, Body horror, Animal death, Murder, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, and Child abuse
year23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I don't think the author handled the portrayal of a perimenopausal woman badly, it didn't feel off or out of touch (something that can happen a lot when cis het men write women characters, particularly ones who are older). I see the critiques but it didn't take me out of the story - in part because of the unreliable narrator of it all. I also appreciate that the author did use sensitivity readers and acknowledged the limits of their own experience - and still wrote this imaginative story. I just finished reading Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde - and it was a good reminder that the goal isn't to limit authors to write only their experience. Reading this right after that, I may have gone in with a different perspective - though will name I AM a perimenopausal woman and though that's really all I shared with the MC, I didn't feel personally that the voice or perspective was off or at worse, misogynistic.
There is misogyny in the text, but it's intentional - and thankfully there's a trigger warning by the author in the preface heading in.
This is a different kind of horror in terms of the POV - it's all through the perspective of the POV apart from a few short scenes at the beginning and end. I may be in the minority here - but I liked this choice. Yes, she is unlikeable - but there are a lot of reasons for that.
I appreciated the portryal of trauma and it's impact as you get older - apart from the horror elements of the story, there's an interesting portrayal here of what it means to manage PTSD as you age. I will be seeking out more stories with that theme due to reading this book.
On a whole - highly recommend to horror fans who are okay with gore (this isn't a cerebral type horror).
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Animal death, Body horror, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry
parasolcrafter'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
0.25
none of the twists feel earned since they were all so easily guessable (like noooo way, mary is the serial killer reincarnated??? oh say it isnt so...surely nobody guessed that at all) and because of that, fell entirely flat. like never once was i caught off guard by a piece of info or shocked or felt as if anything we learned put anything into place snce everything felt obvious from the beginning. like we KNOW there's something wrong with mary from the beginning. we know she killed her neighbours dog. we know that. its obvious. like...i dont even know what else to say about that. it was all just SO badly implemented.
also like it truly is a little mind-blowing how this book still managed to drive home the old 'the serial killer is just a crazy psycho on the loose' despite the fact that i dont think that was meant to be the case...? thats an entirely horrible trope in and of itself and the fact that this book has it in it, just a somewhat misdrect from the entirely obvious plot point, is BAFFLING to me. like it adds nothing the story. nothing. and like..are we supposed to care about mary? are we supposed to sympathize with her? feel pity for her? i hate her. i wish she died out in that fucking desert. i wish the furies would have clawed her eyes out and skinned her the way the members of the flock do to their sacrifices. thats what she deserves. she is a horrible woman, through and through, with no redeeming qualities. i dont believe for even a SECOND that she was ever acting not of her own volition and that its all blamed on 'being the reincarnation of damon cross', aside from the few times he Actually took her over. but before that? before she knew? no; that was all mary.
the only few good parts about this is, at least, that the book is at least self-aware. i appreciated that there was a little bit of satire against true crime culture and it did seem to have (some) insight into what women g through during their lives and how they change during menopause, but those parts were few and far between.
the book also just isnt scary; except, maybe, scary how bad it is.
and to answer the question in the authors afterword which is, directly; 'Was this a story I should have pursued? Or should I have let it scratch in vain inside the haunted trunk of ideas that sits inside every writer's brain?' yes; you absolutely should have locked it away and never looked at this idea again, for fucks sake.
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Child abuse, and Mental illness