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maraviajera's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
unboxedjack's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Confinement
Moderate: Gaslighting, Murder, Sexism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism
voxvenati's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Enjoyable read overall, with enjoyable characters and a mystery that presents itself in an interesting way. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t scary. Still, a good read for what it did give.
The fact that the Devil was just a guy was kind of a let down. The mystery behind him wasn’t that good of a payoff.
Pepper’s, and some of the secondary character’s, growth ended up being the most interesting part. Had the book presented itself like that early on, I might have given this a higher rating.
Pepper’s, and some of the secondary character’s, growth ended up being the most interesting part. Had the book presented itself like that early on, I might have given this a higher rating.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Racism
spaghettireads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
My most recent book club selection, which was totally outside of my reading comfort zone! This is a horror novel, and I usually describe myself as someone who is scared of everything. Definitely one of the reasons why I enjoy having other people select my books some of the time.
This novel is told from the perspective of Pepper, who has been admitted against his will to a psychiatric hospital. He soon finds out that there is a monster that lives in the hospital. The novel describes how Pepper and the people he meets inside the hospital deal with the devil.
There were some parts of the book that I really enjoyed. LaValle makes some great insights into society that really added to the book. Overall though I found the book too long, and the plot meandered a bit too much for me.
It was a great book club selection because there was so much to talk about with regard to the plot and the characters. I would also be interested in picking up something else by the author, because there were some parts of the writing that I thought were great!
This novel is told from the perspective of Pepper, who has been admitted against his will to a psychiatric hospital. He soon finds out that there is a monster that lives in the hospital. The novel describes how Pepper and the people he meets inside the hospital deal with the devil.
There were some parts of the book that I really enjoyed. LaValle makes some great insights into society that really added to the book. Overall though I found the book too long, and the plot meandered a bit too much for me.
It was a great book club selection because there was so much to talk about with regard to the plot and the characters. I would also be interested in picking up something else by the author, because there were some parts of the writing that I thought were great!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, and Sexual content
stayshomeandreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Racism, and Violence
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