Scan barcode
lunarexorcist's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
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
i thought this was a new adult book until like twenty pages in my bad. i was so let down jade was 17 and not... like... 22.
i cried at the last forty pages but then went "what. what? what???" until the end. unhinged. i cant decide if it was unhinged in a genius or stupid way, but i will say thatbeing horny for a ghost that is horny for you also in a toxic yuri way and also a "wow you are so repressed colonialism slash misogyny slash queerphobia is a hell of a thing huh" is one of the more unique interpretations of "this house eats people" ive seen.
i think the fact everyone sucks so bad throws people off but that just made my chest ache with how real it felt. that was my dad. thats my eldest daughter trauma. im gonna lose it.
i cried at the last forty pages but then went "what. what? what???" until the end. unhinged. i cant decide if it was unhinged in a genius or stupid way, but i will say that
i think the fact everyone sucks so bad throws people off but that just made my chest ache with how real it felt. that was my dad. thats my eldest daughter trauma. im gonna lose it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Body horror, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Gaslighting, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Murder, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Abandonment, Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Misogyny, Car accident, Suicide, and Grief
plumdustsuns's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I had typed an entire review but my phone died SMHHH
Anyway. So:
- turned up being a page turner for me
- evocatively beautiful writing and language even with horrific content
- horror wasn’t too distasteful or so which is good for a coward like me
Plot wise:
- by the 200/250 page mark, the plot/incidents began to feel a bit repetitive. Jade goes to sleep, bad dreams, Jade wakes up, fights with dad. I remember I was sHOOK when her dad was digging out the skulls. I wish we had more of that/his hauntings and her seeing him do insane shit instead of just fixing the house and being a stubborn asshat
- lily’s sleepwalking and everything being utilized more would have been cool as well. Using them to go somewhere clue wise and story wise and her being a bit more conflicted about the haunting as she too was being seeped into would have made the stakes feel a lot higher
- I like Jade and Florence but I wish their adventures added more to the story/tightened the plot. Cam being jealous of Florence? Where’s more of that? Why only at the last moment? That would have been so fun and interesting. And seeing Cam’s queerness too in the flashbacks like come onnnn please would have added more to the bad marriage. Maybe her parents discovered her queerness and married her off which is why they don’t talk to her anymore. It could have paralleled Jade’s own fears about coming out and fleshed out their connection, made it more believable and even something to root for in ways
Yeah. There was a lot of interesting content but they all meandered a lot and/or weren’t used to their full potential. Alma being there by the end was blah, we already had a colonizer presence with Marion. Halle didn’t feel too much of a great addition either as we never quite see her or have her back in again.
I wish ‘what did she show you’ to Ba came way before and he showed Jade and we got more of his motivations and it added to his complexities and just the immigrant symbolisms the book was going for. He had so much potential than being just the ‘we’re never leaving’ bad guy and would have brought a lot of cultural weight and justified Jade’s empathy and forgiveness almost of his actions even more. ‘He never spoke about his family before’ WHAT IF HE DID NOW. I like that this was all triggered by his loss of his mother/homeland. We could have went into it more. Him and Jade and Lily could have all had shared psychosis/dreams from the insane food. Sigh. So much lost potential. And if the mom did come in earlier and hadn’t been allowed to leave for a bit? And the escape felt more necessary as pressing as it was all very ‘yeah alright she’s gonna burn down the house now’ without it feeling very consequential to me.
I thought this was a solid almost 3 star read but the more I wrote this review and realized how much more could have been done, the madder I got and realized this was a 2 star read for me at best. But I did enjoy it in ways still.
Anyway. So:
- turned up being a page turner for me
- evocatively beautiful writing and language even with horrific content
- horror wasn’t too distasteful or so which is good for a coward like me
Plot wise:
- by the 200/250 page mark, the plot/incidents began to feel a bit repetitive. Jade goes to sleep, bad dreams, Jade wakes up, fights with dad. I remember I was sHOOK when her dad was digging out the skulls. I wish we had more of that/his hauntings and her seeing him do insane shit instead of just fixing the house and being a stubborn asshat
- lily’s sleepwalking and everything being utilized more would have been cool as well. Using them to go somewhere clue wise and story wise and her being a bit more conflicted about the haunting as she too was being seeped into would have made the stakes feel a lot higher
- I like Jade and Florence but I wish their adventures added more to the story/tightened the plot. Cam being jealous of Florence? Where’s more of that? Why only at the last moment? That would have been so fun and interesting. And seeing Cam’s queerness too in the flashbacks like come onnnn please would have added more to the bad marriage. Maybe her parents discovered her queerness and married her off which is why they don’t talk to her anymore. It could have paralleled Jade’s own fears about coming out and fleshed out their connection, made it more believable and even something to root for in ways
Yeah. There was a lot of interesting content but they all meandered a lot and/or weren’t used to their full potential. Alma being there by the end was blah, we already had a colonizer presence with Marion. Halle didn’t feel too much of a great addition either as we never quite see her or have her back in again.
I wish ‘what did she show you’ to Ba came way before and he showed Jade and we got more of his motivations and it added to his complexities and just the immigrant symbolisms the book was going for. He had so much potential than being just the ‘we’re never leaving’ bad guy and would have brought a lot of cultural weight and justified Jade’s empathy and forgiveness almost of his actions even more. ‘He never spoke about his family before’ WHAT IF HE DID NOW. I like that this was all triggered by his loss of his mother/homeland. We could have went into it more. Him and Jade and Lily could have all had shared psychosis/dreams from the insane food. Sigh. So much lost potential. And if the mom did come in earlier and hadn’t been allowed to leave for a bit? And the escape felt more necessary as pressing as it was all very ‘yeah alright she’s gonna burn down the house now’ without it feeling very consequential to me.
I thought this was a solid almost 3 star read but the more I wrote this review and realized how much more could have been done, the madder I got and realized this was a 2 star read for me at best. But I did enjoy it in ways still.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Body horror, Gore, Gaslighting, Murder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Confinement, Racism, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Slavery
clovetra's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
ok i had to pause to collect my thoughts on this.
i hate to say i did not have a good time.
look it feels illegal to give this a 1-star because;
a) the cover is too beautiful to rate it that low
b) i did enjoy the first 30% of this book!
it feels wrong to rate a book lower when i considered dnf’ing many times yet pushed through because i wanted to know how it ended & if it got any better. the fact i had that much interest is worth 2-stars to me. plus i really wanted to like this. REALLY wanted to like this. alas as u can see by my stars um…. i did not!
it was really hard to formulate my thoughts about this book simply because most of the time i had no fuckjng idea what was going on. like if you asked me for a summary i would probably skip a good 60% of the plot because i actually don’t know what was happening. i still don’t really know what happened by the end. like yeah i got what happened to ba but….. with cam & marion? lily? jade even? um. 😀
like even the chapter titles such as “heart”…. i assume it was the house? i cant even be sure.
i wouldn’t be surprised if it was a meta-commentary like “if you don’t understand this book it’s immersing you into being jade in this house” but…. cmon when i don’t even know what i don’t know i am not a happy camper.
that was honestly my main issue. i think if i knew what was going on i would’ve given this at the bare minimum an extra star. but like im gonna have to read other reviews to know what’s going on.
another gripe, which is a lot more minor mind you, is that this didn’t feel like a horror. it’s more like a thriller. but like nothing was really horrifying to me. bro i need more than just some bugs. the more horrific elements may have been lost on me because i had no idea what was going on!!!!!
my final gripe is that this was such a slow burn oh my god????? storygraph said this was medium-paced…… WHERE. i’m sorry this is not medium-burn this is a snail’s-pace-burn. not even saying that’s a bad thing! it’s just not my thing and if i knew it was a slow burn i wouldn’t have even read it!
idk man im really sad cuz i wanted to love this! otherwise i wouldn’t have pushed past like 30%!!!!!!!
i am hoping that trang thanh tran irons out these “kinks” in her newest book because it looks good. granted i did say that about this book and look where that got me but. IM HOLDING OUT FOR YOU TRANG THANH TRAN!!!!!!!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Death, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death of parent, War, Classism, Car accident, Xenophobia, and Death
Minor: Homophobia, Slavery, and Biphobia
parkergarlough's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Death
Moderate: Racism, Car accident, Misogyny, Grief, Gore, Lesbophobia, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
torismazarine's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicide, Car accident, Classism, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cursing, and Xenophobia
Minor: Alcohol and Sexual content
ember_is_gay's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
i did enjoy this, however around the 3/4 point i started getting lost with what was happening and it just got confusing. jade and florence were very cute and the ending did make me happy
very shortly after i read 'a house with good bones' which is such a similar book but i think done a little bit better which then made me reflect more on 'she is a haunting'. i originally gave this 4 stars but moved it down to 3.5. i really wanted to like this, but i think the commitment to making it horror (even YA) wasn't there, the love storyline seemed more important. the moments where the horror came in and was well written did captivate me, but the ended to soon and suddenly i was reading a different book. i genuinely think that either focusing on the horror theme more and leaving the love storyline would have been better. it felt like once jade and florence were together suddenly there was a half-horror storyline that needed wrapping up but with no way to do it, hence my confusion mentioned. if that love storyline had been left out and the focus was on horror it would have been a lot better. or even if it was just a YA romance/contemporary it would have been better. the two just didn't fit well here.
very shortly after i read 'a house with good bones' which is such a similar book but i think done a little bit better which then made me reflect more on 'she is a haunting'. i originally gave this 4 stars but moved it down to 3.5. i really wanted to like this, but i think the commitment to making it horror (even YA) wasn't there, the love storyline seemed more important. the moments where the horror came in and was well written did captivate me, but the ended to soon and suddenly i was reading a different book. i genuinely think that either focusing on the horror theme more and leaving the love storyline would have been better. it felt like once jade and florence were together suddenly there was a half-horror storyline that needed wrapping up but with no way to do it, hence my confusion mentioned. if that love storyline had been left out and the focus was on horror it would have been a lot better. or even if it was just a YA romance/contemporary it would have been better. the two just didn't fit well here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Murder
itzbrianna's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.75
She is A Haunting is a bug horror novel set in modern day vietnam. The protagonist, Jade Nguyen, and her sister visits their father at their family’s ancestral home and the house is haunted.
This book contains a very detailed father daughter conflict dynamic that resonated with me. And throughout this book we learn of Jade’s family history and the colonial impact on their family by the french.
Throughout the novel there are poetic snippets revealing parts of the house and the haunting. And there are incredible scenes and descriptions detailing the different ways imperialism has impacted vietnam. The use of bugs and infestation in this book is pure genius.
Jade is a complicated character and her relationship with her father is no different. We get to learn a lot about Jade through interactions with her family, with the house, and other characters in the book.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and though it dragged on for a little too long I still think it’s worth a read if you love haunted horror. Thanh is very descriptive and has beautiful imagery throughout this book. Not to mention the cover is GORGEOUS. I highly recommend!
This book contains a very detailed father daughter conflict dynamic that resonated with me. And throughout this book we learn of Jade’s family history and the colonial impact on their family by the french.
Throughout the novel there are poetic snippets revealing parts of the house and the haunting. And there are incredible scenes and descriptions detailing the different ways imperialism has impacted vietnam. The use of bugs and infestation in this book is pure genius.
Jade is a complicated character and her relationship with her father is no different. We get to learn a lot about Jade through interactions with her family, with the house, and other characters in the book.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and though it dragged on for a little too long I still think it’s worth a read if you love haunted horror. Thanh is very descriptive and has beautiful imagery throughout this book. Not to mention the cover is GORGEOUS. I highly recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Murder and Lesbophobia
Bug horror and detailed fire injury.moh_reads'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Death of parent, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit
Moderate: Car accident, Death, Alcoholism, Grief, and Racism
Minor: Medical content and War
chroniti's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
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
4.25
Eerie and creepy along with the struggles of a broken family and the scars of colonization. Finally, a Vietnamese-American horror with a bisexual main character for me, a bisexual Vietnamese-American woman to read.
The romantic subplot did not overtake the horror in this book and was able to fit neatly with the main character's story.
The characters are flawed and very human.
The middle portion is slower-paced since there's more focus on the characters rather than the horrors, which I felt was important to put time aside to flesh out the characters and their dynamics.
This felt like watching a great horror miniseries in book form.
I-uh-I would not recommend reading this while you're eating...
Some of the things described in this book can be stomach-churning.
Great horror read!
The romantic subplot did not overtake the horror in this book and was able to fit neatly with the main character's story.
The characters are flawed and very human.
The middle portion is slower-paced since there's more focus on the characters rather than the horrors, which I felt was important to put time aside to flesh out the characters and their dynamics.
This felt like watching a great horror miniseries in book form.
I-uh-I would not recommend reading this while you're eating...
Some of the things described in this book can be stomach-churning.
Great horror read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Murder, Death, and Racism
uncreativeoops's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The vibes were immaculate, which is pretty important for a gothic horror novel, and the author managed to create an eerie and tense atmosphere while also describing everything so aesthetically. The descriptions felt very... indirect? I sometimes had to reread parts because I wasn't sure what was actually happening but that is by no means a criticism; I adored the language. Plotwise however, I struggled a bit. Haunted houses only work if the characters have a good reason to be in them and not leave once, you know, they realize they might die. In this case, there were reasons for the main character not just going home, but they weren't strong enough for me. I got her motivations and I liked how her struggles with her family and her identity played out, but her behavior in the house was just ridiculous. And some of it seemed like it only happened to set up conflict between characters, the main thing that didn't work for me. Nearly every thing that characters got angry about was so obviously only there to create a shocking reveal and lead to an argument and some of the "dark secrets" I just straight up didn't consider as bad things. The romance also suffered from this.
My favorite thing however were the shorter horror chapters and how horror as a genre was used to discuss colonialism, racism, and sexism. Gothic horror has always been used to portray societal issues with supernatural metaphores and this was done so well here. I also have never read YA horror before and was pleasantly surprised how well these two can be mixed.
My favorite thing however were the shorter horror chapters and how horror as a genre was used to discuss colonialism, racism, and sexism. Gothic horror has always been used to portray societal issues with supernatural metaphores and this was done so well here. I also have never read YA horror before and was pleasantly surprised how well these two can be mixed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Colonisation, Racism, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Animal death, Medical content, Addiction, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcohol, and Misogyny
Minor: Homophobia, Biphobia, Car accident, and Bullying