Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

תמונות נסתרות by Jason Rekulak

25 reviews

luv4journey's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.25

Went into this book completely blind and it really surprised me. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. the ending was really good and i enjoyed the writing my only complaint is how the parents were wrote with being the “typical atheist vegan liberal” I found it very strange and I don’t think they needed to be wrote in that way for the plot, plus the only Asian character being obsessed with anime and drawing whiskers on?? I had some of ending spoiled for me but it still shocked me and I was genuinely creeped out at certain parts of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Racism, and Kidnapping

katerinatroyanovich's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

On the surface this book was fine. It was a page turner, went quickly, kept me guessing. The addition of illustrations throughout was an intriguing idea that added an element of creepiness that I enjoyed. But I can’t get the weird micro aggressions out of my head: Stereotypical characters of color like caricatures - you’re going to make the one Latinx family landscapers that have all mission style furniture? And the one Asian character draw whiskers on her face and love anime? Also weird ideas about atheism - I’ve never met an atheist who was so intense about not celebrating holidays or letting their kid believe in the tooth fairy. Nor have I met an atheist that is happy to show their five year old graphic anatomy books that ALSO explain anal sex and cunnilingus. Wtf? And am I crazy or did the author manage to squeeze in an opinion on the gender binary? Was this transphobic? I don’t even know what I just read. Damn.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Addiction, and Racism

tanacef's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Drug abuse, Racism, Alcohol, Addiction, Infertility, Car accident, Gaslighting, Dementia, Drug use, and Religious bigotry

cup__of__stars's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, and Infidelity

Minor: Racism and Fatphobia

cole_tergeist_boo's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

I’m not sure if the book intended to be transphobic or simply have a big “plot twist” but it was a weird choice for sure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Religious bigotry

dazedl's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

3.25

ahh i like how intriguing this story and it's actually quite well written.. as long as you can get past the overtly cliched trope of "atheistic vegan leftist millenial parents" like how avid fox news views people who are not conservative in their book lol

also the epilogue was boring and the book would be better off without that part 😭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Transphobia, and Abandonment

ladypuercoloco's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

I got into this one way more than I expected to - not sure why I chose it/how I came by it until I realized it fulfilled a Kindle Challenge requirement for a Goodreads pick.  I read horror/mysteries/thrillers all the time and honestly the blurb sounded a bit familiar to me, but as I got into the book I realized this one really stands out from other nanny horror books I've read.  The supernatural aspects are really well done

"Anya" being the mother was mind-blowing!  I liked the red herring of the mid-century murder plot that wasn't a murder...So many twists and turns came as surprises but even though I marked this spoiler and I seriously doubt anyone cares to read my reviews just in case I won't give more away.

. Having known a few addicts in various stages of use/recovery I really liked the future that was laid out for Mallory and the amount of work she was willing to put in.  This one was a pleasant early January surprise that will be hopefully setting the pace for the year - I LOVE being surprised by plot twists I really don't see coming!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Car accident, Child death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Dysphoria, Addiction, Child abuse, Infertility, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Alcoholism

Overall I don't feel like any particular thing was too graphic but the contents/plot/subplot can be a lot to take in in retrospect. It honestly wasn't until I was looking through the trigger warning list that I realized just how many played a part in this book, but I listed all as mild as none were terribly drawn out. It's a horror book. There are bound to be some horrible things in, especially when it has been an award winner. I rated it just about as high as I ever rate anything - it is excellent at what it does and the elements it is able to work in

biblio_creep's review against another edition

The first half of it was going along pretty well, and then things took several turns.

From the jump there is a lot of mention about the main character being Christian, and the two other adult main characters being atheist. We are banged over the head with it on several occasions. It just feels icky, like you're getting reminded that atheists are bad people subtly, over and over. And wouldn’t you know, the Christian ends up to be the hero and the Atheists are bad people. Of course.

Then, we get a plot point/twist using gender identity that I found to be very problematic. In short, it's transphobic. And, it's full of right-wing dog whistles. 

Additionally, it's not even well written. There are many other plot points that are introduced and then not mentioned again until the very end, and didn’t even need to be there. And, a lot of confusing or stupid decisions by characters. Just a trope filled mess.

My advice is to not waste your time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Religious bigotry, and Transphobia

annahamburger's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Car accident, Drug use, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Classism

Minor: Confinement, Dysphoria, Infertility, Transphobia, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Cursing, Dementia, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Blood, and Infidelity

mitchell_1's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Body shaming

Moderate: Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Car accident, and Racism