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lunababybat's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I'm not sure how to feel about this one. It was good, fine. But it felt like something was missing. To me, at least, it wasn't really splatterpunk. It was disturbing at first, but once the two siblings set off, it really didn't do much aside from a lot of introspection. Which is fine, but not what I was looking for in an extreme horror book. I can tell the author was trying to convey a message, but I'm not sure what it was by the end. Writing itself was fine, more character driven than anything, but it just was missing something.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexual content, Vomit, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Blood, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child death
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
1.0
Literary horror? All I can say is this shouldn’t be a genre. Not entertaining. Not thought provoking. Not particularly well-written. Sometimes when you go for the trifecta you miss on every count. An attempt at being genre expanding ends in horrific death by bored disgust.
maddykris's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
ryantlabee's review against another edition
4.0
True Crime by Samantha Kolesnik was SO close to being a perfect read for me. The writing is wonderful and the characters are engaging, however, the first half of the book is far more successful than the second half. Still, I love Kolesnik’s prose and I’m a big fan. Will be reading more.
maisonmarsiela's review against another edition
4.0
this was bleak, brutal, and uncomfortable, but the portrayal of the potential effects of trauma was incredible. the author perfectly captured the pain, disgust, shame, emptiness, and debilitating rage that can result from trauma. she also managed to get me to feel for the narrator (which is quite a feat seeing as she’s, yknow, a murderer) because of the insight we get into her traumatic upbringing and the lasting effects it has on her
bookish_withsky's review against another edition
5.0
“I wondered how the world made its villains and why it never apologized for making them.”
Before I start, definitely look up the trigger warnings for this. It can be a lot, especially if you aren’t used to the genre.
That being said – fucking great. I was hooked to begin with, did not want to put it down at all. So many memorable quotes for such a tiny book. Just absolutely fucking phenomenal. I do wish we knew more about Lim, mama, Alice, and the others‘ no one missed’. It gave so much but I still wanted more. Definitely going to pick up waif
Before I start, definitely look up the trigger warnings for this. It can be a lot, especially if you aren’t used to the genre.
That being said – fucking great. I was hooked to begin with, did not want to put it down at all. So many memorable quotes for such a tiny book. Just absolutely fucking phenomenal. I do wish we knew more about Lim, mama, Alice, and the others‘ no one missed’. It gave so much but I still wanted more. Definitely going to pick up waif
lurker_stalker's review against another edition
5.0
This short book blew me away. From the first page to the last, I couldn't pull my eyes away. Dark, sad, disturbing, and beautifully written. I will absolutely read it again and definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys horror.
Again, this is very dark and graphic. But not gratuitously graphic. So good though.
Again, this is very dark and graphic. But not gratuitously graphic. So good though.
neverbpractical's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Incest, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Pedophilia, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Rape
Minor: Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Animal cruelty, and Fire/Fire injury
menastarr's review against another edition
3.0
disturbing! the pacing was effective and kept me engaged. "true crime" has the atmosphere of "bones and all", but definitely a little heavier in content. please check trigger warnings before going in because there are ALLLLL kinds of upsetting topics present within the story. something i'm very sensitive to is violence surrounding animals, and that is something present at the opening, middle, and conclusion of the storyline.
i found the ending to be a little unsatisfying, as i felt like there was not any character development for suzy. some of her actions felt very unrealistic and unjustified, particularly in the very last chapter. don't get me wrong, i love a storyline where we see a character's psyche unravel and crumble, but with kolesnik's "true crime", i think it held the overall plot back.
i think it would've been interesting to have the backstory on suzy and lim's father a little more–i felt like that wasn't thoroughly addressed and would have built more character info for our two main characters.
trigger warnings:
- abuse
- child molestation
- incest
- death of family members
- SA and rape
- animal death
- animal cruelty/torture (pigs, dogs, cat)
- murder
i found the ending to be a little unsatisfying, as i felt like there was not any character development for suzy. some of her actions felt very unrealistic and unjustified, particularly in the very last chapter. don't get me wrong, i love a storyline where we see a character's psyche unravel and crumble, but with kolesnik's "true crime", i think it held the overall plot back.
i think it would've been interesting to have the backstory on suzy and lim's father a little more–i felt like that wasn't thoroughly addressed and would have built more character info for our two main characters.
trigger warnings:
- abuse
- child molestation
- incest
- death of family members
- SA and rape
- animal death
- animal cruelty/torture (pigs, dogs, cat)
- murder