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tesslw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I am critically aware that my opinion on this book is very much the minority as I know so many people absolutely loved this book… however, for me this was probably the biggest reading disappointment of the year.
This book is a story of a child gone missing - vanished during a day out at the lake, and a sister (Dee) who has sworn to find her. It’s also the story of Ted, who lives in a house on Needless Street (the (the last house, in fact - fancy that!). Ted is painted as a bit of an odd-ball and a hermit, but he loves his cat, Olivia, and his young daughter, Lauren who live with him.
I actually really enjoyed the first third (or maybe even half?) of this - which also seems to stand at odds with popular opinion. There are multiple POVs, the narrative is very fragmented and it’s all incredibly ambiguous; all these things speak to me, so I was all on board. However from here, it all fell apart. The narratives became increasingly monotone and grating, the pacing was way off - and I had one REALLY big issue that I just couldn't get past, but I’ll have to include it in a spoiler flagged section as it really is integral to the plot and I can’t mention it without ruining basically the whole book. Only that I found it largely unhelpful, undermining and sensationalist.
SPOILER INCOMING!
Whilst Ward tries to justify this use of DID within the plot by stating in an authors note that she essentially realised that she wanted to write Ted as having this diagnosis after stumbling across a video (having never heard of the disorder before) of someone explaining their experiences with it. In this moment she realised that all the characters she had been trying to write were voices from one body, and this fit for Ted because she realised he didn’t seem like a murderer because she regularly ‘found pockets of compassion for him’. Whilst it is clear that she has since done a significant amount of reading and had conversations with individuals with lived experiences, the whole thing just seemed disingenuous and doesn’t sit right with me.
I’m glad to have read it so I can join in with conversations about it but I don’t believe I’ll be reading anything else from this author unfortunately!
Graphic: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, and Abandonment
cassie7e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Also now I need more suspense stories wirh the cat as a POV character!
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Murder, and Abandonment
aardwyrm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
tifcochran'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
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Alcohol
honeywine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
themaddbeanie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.5
Yeah, someone's mental illness is not your horror story. You can't just steal a real disorder and turn it into a "freak show" for others to gawk at. Disrespectful
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
I feel like this could potentially be very upsetting for people with certain mental illnesses or those who have experienced abuse.kjm_x's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
katkinslee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Abandonment
ninag98's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Abandonment
chloermadsen'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
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Self harm, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail