Reviews with content warning for Gore - She Is a Haunting

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

25 reviews

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? No

4.0

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susanpevensie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

i’d like to preface this review by saying that i’m not vietnamese, so i believe that my experience with this book would certainly different than if i were a vietnamese.

what i loved about this book is that it’s very rich in culture and lore. i loved that the author did not shy away from using vietnamese language. she most definitely did not over-explain terms—it’s like, if you don’t know what they’re saying, then google is free!

jade wasn’t exactly an easy character to like. she was all teenage angst at seventeen years old. a bit abrasive, she was constantly angry and rude to the people around her, she was stubborn, she betrayed her best friend by kissing her friend’s crush just because she could, and she held a mean grudge. but underneath it all was just a child who needed to be loved and accepted. i couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. her struggle as an inner child unbeknownst to her little sister resonated with me a lot.

the author’s writing was hard for to follow at times. i understand why some readers found themselves confused with what’s going on with the story. certain parts were disjointed, which i felt made no sense but i think it’s just the author’s writing style. regardless of that, i find this book beautifully written and i thjnk it would make such a perfect movie.

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sammy_nor's review against another edition

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3.25

i liked the book, but i also found the writing confusing at times. i hadn’t a clue what was going on half the time

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leweylibrary's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

I wanted to like this one more than I did unfortunately. I did like the spooky, LGBTQIA+ vibes and the fuck colonialism sentiments, but I just found myself having a hard time getting into the book and staying in it. I also wasn't crazy about most of the characters. Overall it fell a bit flat for me, but I do appreciate it and think there are others who will love it more.

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vampire_burrito's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

"Did you all die here?" I ask out loud, when the question I mean is, Have I buried you well enough?

Let me start this review off by saying that I can completely understand why some people didn't like this book. There are some pacing issues and for a horror novel this was not at all scary (for context, I'm a massive wimp who has read like three horror books in her life and gets weirded out by scenes on Stranger Things) but it also has so many things that worked so well for me personally. Let's start of with the main character Jade. In so many ways Jade is me. We are both older sisters, both perpetually stressed out, both crave validation in every aspect of our lives, we are both queer. She doesn't really know what she wants to do with her life despite having a meticulous plan. Obviously there are differences (I'm not Vietnamese, she is) but reading about a character who struggles with so many of the things I do, and feeling so seen by that character was an experience I don't think I'll forget. In many ways Jade's haracter felt like a love letter to confused queer teens. I also loved the way this book focused on familial love and family relationships (both positive and negative)over platonic and romantic ones (although there is a little touch of romance mixed in) because I feel like I haven't read a lot of books that have that focus. Jade's relationship with her sister was lovely to read about. I also loved the way her relationship with her dad was presented because I thought the author portrayed a situation like that in a really nuanced way. Jade has a lot of harsh feelings against her dad

she is angry at him for leaving her mother and younger siblings as well as his rejection of her bisexuality

but she cannot help but still care about him and want his love and acceptance. This is all written about in a way that shows the love she still has for this parent but does not diminish her anger. The writing style in this book was also really great (especially for a debut novel) in my opinion. The quote at the beginning of this review was one of my favourites, but there are so many other lines and passages that I highlighted on my kindle. As for the horror in this book, I think this would make a pretty good introduction to horror but that seasoned horror readers/consumers would find that aspect of the book to be lacking. The themes behind the horror (the use of the house to show the way the colonial and violent past of Vietnam continues to impact people living today) was far more interesting and scary that the actual on-page horror, which I think is exactly what the author intended and they executed it really well in my opinion.
Overall, She Is A Haunting is a fascinating debut that unpacks heavy themes, while also managing to have a flawed but relatable protagonist. I will definitely be reading this authors next book. I would recommend this book to teenagers who don't know what they want to do with their life, people who want an introduction to horror and people who enjoy books with a heavy focus on family and familial pain.

I carry the burden of being the first child, and it sinks me into the soil.

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adragoninspace's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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hobbithopeful's review against another edition

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challenging 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? No

4.75

Sapphic colonization horror!?? LIKE WHAT! This was such an engaging and creepy read. I couldn't put it down, even as I had goosebumps from the suffocating imagery. I don't think there are many authors that can pull off writing about race and colonisation for a horror book, but Trang Thanh Tran NAILED it! I am a grade A weenie, so this wasn't too scary for me to read. I was guessing the whole time, and I loved the twists and turns.
I absolutely loved how race was talked about, it was just done so well and seamlessly. Honestly still cracking up about the line "this woman has a PHD in colonization.." . Jade feels so out of place in Vietnam, like a banana she mentions, and honestly I relate so much to her with my own race struggles.
Also this book is sapphic!
A truly creepy and tense tale about a hungry house, and too many bugs!
If you like thriller books you will definitely like this one!

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theromanticace's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

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_teoeo's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Racism and colonialism as very important topics! But the writing was confusing (it felt like it jumped between actions and thought instead of flowing, yk?) and overall I would rate it as an "okay" read

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modernmatilda's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.5

Things I love
-female character who aren't perfect and who's flaws and mistakes are a struggle
-books with covers featuring girls faces with flowers growing out of their mouths
-explorations on topic like what parents owe their children, what older siblings do to project their younger siblings and is it good, first vs second generation kids, cultural identify, belong/not belonging

This book was a wild ride with cottageGORE vibes that I treasure. But more than that, it was this gorgeous exploration of families, parents, multigeneration trauma, colonization, and ghosts. I don't think I understood everything, but I loved everything.

The dream/not dream scenes were wonderful because I did not know which parts were real and which ones weren't. The sleep paralysis creeped me the F out. The bug scenes were fantastically gorey but I think I needed more explanation.

I feel like this would make a fantastic book discussion choice and I'm so thankful to my local bookstore employee for recommending it.

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