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Very pedantic and I just couldn't get into the story with the way the author writes. I also couldn't find a reason to care about the outcome of the characters; I just wasn't invested. I stopped sooner rather than later because it's such a short book that if I'm already a third of the way in and I don't care, I likely won't start caring by the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Blood
Heavy animal cruelty, so be cautious if that is something that affects you.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
unsettling and dark. unfortunately, the wasp factory had me feeling left behind on a few things for a while, and even now i’m still a little confused on their relevance, but maybe that’s my fault. the plot twists were interesting, and i think the book overall is an interesting critique of gender and toxic masculinity. it’ll be interesting to read this again in the future knowing how the book ends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Murder
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What the hell did I just read?! This book is gruesome, dark, and in some places genuinely pretty upsetting. That being said, I read it in two days and I found it a compelling story. I feel like the author might be trying to say something deeply profound about generational trauma, but the visceral violence in the book is so acute in places that I found it a bit difficult to stomach. Content notes for a lot of animal cruelty, animal death, and child death, amongst many many other things.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Vomit
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Frankenstein is a major intertext for this novel, and as someone who loves Frankenstein, I loved the way this book raises similar questions and shares many of the themes. I know many people do not like the animal abuse which is present in this book (not my favourite thing to read about either) and say that it is unnecessary and did not need to be included, but I disagree. I mean without it half the book - and half the point of the book - is missing. To me, the animal cruelty is not pointless and included just for the sake of it/to add shock value as I’ve seen suggested in some reviews, but it is included for a reason and does have a purpose. While I did not particularly enjoy reading those parts of the book, I think they are important to the story and overall message being portrayed. That being said, while I think this is a great book, I know that some people will not be able to enjoy it due to the animal cruelty, so if you know that is something you cannot read in a book then I’d avoid this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
dark
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
This has been on my radar for years, and finally it up has been such a disappointment.
Perhaps it would have been shocking once, but the writing around the child murders is not strong enough to support the lack of characterisation or plot.
A book like this shouldn't be boring, and my god it's a drag.
Perhaps it would have been shocking once, but the writing around the child murders is not strong enough to support the lack of characterisation or plot.
A book like this shouldn't be boring, and my god it's a drag.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Murder
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Medical content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Misogyny
This book is utterly insane from start to finish.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore
Moderate: Child death, Gore, Mental illness, Sexism
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought for sure this would be way more intense than it actually was. People talk about this like it's some paramount tale of psychological twisting and horror, but I thought it was mid. Yeah, the animal death is messed up, but all of the other stuff? Saw some of it coming, and some of it was weird folks who live in a small town. As someone who lives in a small town (under 7,000 people), it wouldn't surprise me to have this happen close by.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Medical trauma
Moderate: Alcohol, Dysphoria
Far too much animal cruelty and killing for me to stomach anymore!
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty