Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

4 reviews

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

1.75

SO much going on all at once, and not balanced very well. I think I would have liked the different narrative elements individually or if they had been melded more effectively (because a haunted house that is so both literally and as a deeper allegory for the lingering legacy of colonialism -- if that is the intention -- is conceptually great), but it just feels like it's trying to be several different things mashed haphazardly into one. Super overwritten as well, and yet at the same time basically everything that should be shown is told and vice versa.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Racism, Suicide, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Misogyny, War, Vomit, Homophobia, Biphobia, Bullying, and Sexism

Fungal/parasitic infection. Insects, insect death. Sleep paralysis.

suzylit's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Gore, Biphobia, Body horror, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Blood

Moderate: Racism, Fire/Fire injury, and Xenophobia

meaghanelizabook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Colonisation, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, and Gore

Minor: Vomit

marleywrites's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

Jade was the perfect narrator for this haunting novel. She was angry, she was scared, she was smart. Jade was also a normal eighteen year old- a little cocky, a little blunt. I loved every second. 

I found learning about Vietnamese culture through this story really engaging. I like reading stories about taking down nasty colonizers so I was really enjoying that aspect of the novel. I especially liked that the book did not provide translation for everything said in Vietnamese. I liked that it wasn’t handed to me, I had to pause and go Google it. I didn’t mind that, for me, it worked. It was unapologetic.

Florence was such an interesting character. I liked her sass and her brains and her scheming. I liked that she saw Jade and wanted to know her right from the start. She weaseled her way in there and did not back down when things got hard. 

I found the pacing of this book to be moderately slow, but I think it worked for the story. It sort of goes from a warm water to a rolling boil at a pace where you don’t even realize you’re being pulled in. I liked that when the ending hit, you’re like, “how did we get here??”.

The wealthy couple, Alma and Tommy, were really frustrating characters by design. I enjoyed their role in this book. 

I wish we could have seen Halle on page. I would have liked to know more about that relationship for Jade. I also wish we could have seen more on page, in person interactions with Jade’s mom. But I did enjoy getting to see them interact on FaceTime!

Overall, I loved reading this story and I think the author did a really wonderful job with this book. The horror elements were gross and captivating at the same time, and I look forward to more from this author! We also love to see an author using they/them pronouns! 💛

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Racism, and Body horror

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Death, Vomit, and Car accident

There are descriptions of rotten food and lots of descriptions of bugs.