Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy

18 reviews

blacksphinx's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

• 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

3.5

I did enjoy this book, but it's a stew of various elements I'm not sure all come together in the end. I don't regret my time with it, but it goes off in a direction I wasn't expecting (both in a good and bad way) and I'm not sure how likely I am to recommend it to others or reread it. I would hold it up as a shockingly good example of feminist horror written by a man though, and I will definitely be reading Nat Cassidy's next book, Nestlings, when it comes out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Murder, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, and Gun violence

Minor: Terminal illness, Racism, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, and Death of parent

scytheria's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Sexism, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Body shaming, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Violence, Dysphoria, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Ableism, and Vomit

spookytaco's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Cursing, Death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Blood, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Violence, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Torture, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Murder, Grief, Animal death, and Medical trauma

crispr_breadboard's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.75

This book was incredible. Gory, lots of triggers, but the careful lens of looking at a peri-menopause woman deeply embedded in the toxic patriarchy WHILE STILL being a book about religion, sexism, ageism, and horror? Phew. It was a great book. 

Another impressive note— the author wrote with notable care and sensitivity about menopause- he has also written an afterword discussing the very real and complex topic of whether a man should even be *allowed* to write about the topic with such core themes around womanhood, menopause, and self identity. He did a fantastic job, which he acknowledges is also thanks to his editor and her team of sensitivity readers. Great work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Gore, Grief, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Cursing, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Fatphobia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Excrement, and Death of parent

Also has creepy scenes about insects too.

wylovat's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Child death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Animal death, Confinement, Blood, Cursing, Body horror, Body shaming, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Vomit, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia

mx_eyebrows's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a gory, horror masterpiece! This is a new favorite book for me, and possibly my favorite horror book of all. It’s disgusting and beautiful at the same time. Explores the horrors of the patriarchy and how women, especially older women, are treated. And it’s written by a man. Like, what? Heavy trigger warnings, so check those before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Violence, Confinement, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Torture, Rape, and Sexual assault

morganmay's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

5.0

I absolutely loved this book. If you read it you HAVE to read the author’s notes (one at the beginning and one at the end) as they are a huge part of the reason I loved this. I won’t give too much away, but it definitely went a different direction than I predicted and I will keep parts of Thai book with me forever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Cancer, Death of parent, Body horror, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Torture, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Stalking, Misogyny, Bullying, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Violence, and Trafficking

thehutonfowlslegs's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

[Read as an ARC through Edelweiss]

I’m constantly searching for books and movies in the horror genre in an attempt to adequately scare myself (which has proven difficult), and this book surprisingly accomplished that. There were scenes that had my hand forcefully pressed to my mouth, and some of the twists had me audibly gasping. 

Though a bit long, I felt like the slow burn horror was done really well. It perfectly built up to a tense, climatic ending. The writing was mildly experimental at times, and I really enjoyed the fictional quotes, articles, and book excerpts; however, I wished they had been a bit more spread throughout the novel rather than stuck at the end, as it felt a tad awkward to suddenly jump to that. 

Another thing that I didn’t totally enjoy was the main character’s voice. While I loved her characterization and absolutely revel at unreliable narrators, Mary’s particular voice was just a bit too forced and cringe-worthy at times. Occasionally, there were some things directly spelled out that could’ve benefited from being implied, allowing the reader to figure things out and assess the themes on their own. 

I’d also highly recommend reading the afterword, as the author discusses some important topics. Plus, I actually went 😮 when the writer revealed he’s a cisgender man. The female characterization was great, and he explained how in-depth his research was in order to accurately portray such a real yet neglected topic in fiction. 

Overall, an excellent exploration of serious themes while properly giving me the creeps. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Blood, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Body horror, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Body shaming

Minor: Vomit