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annathechaoticreader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I am in absolute awe of this book. It has all of the things I love: literary prose, interesting characters, grief-filled religious themes, queerness, and horrifying & grotesque content. It's one of the most poignant horror novels I've read in a very long time and one that I will be thinking about for a long while. It is absolutely brilliant and I'm just so floored by it, absolutely recommend.
"For Ghost, his body was nothing more than a compost heap - a crude patchwork of abused anatomy that even the most impulsive surrealist wouldn't dare commemorate on canvas. Ghost knew well he was a monster, a horrible mutation handmade by grief." page 19
"For Ghost, his body was nothing more than a compost heap - a crude patchwork of abused anatomy that even the most impulsive surrealist wouldn't dare commemorate on canvas. Ghost knew well he was a monster, a horrible mutation handmade by grief." page 19
Graphic: Biphobia, Blood, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Hate crime, Death, Homophobia, Torture, Medical trauma, Murder, Body horror, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia
Minor: Ableism, Car accident, and Child death
dean_reviews's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
Oh gosh, what do I even say about Everything the Darkness Eats?
It was an amazing book, but also such a hard and emotional read.
I don't think that I was fully prepared for what I was getting myself into when I started this book. I am still glad that I did read it though.
***Content warnings for this book:
Death, Injury/Injury Detail, Homophobia (including slurs), Graphic Rape, Graphic Sexual Assault, Graphic Abuse, Gore, Murder, Blood, Ritual Sacrifice, Ableism, Home Invasion, Terminal Illness, AIDS, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of a loved one, Death of an infant, Biphobia/Bierasure***
This story is told to us in a narrative form that follows multiple people who are effected by the events happening in the small Connecticut town of Henley's Edge. Our cast of characters is varied and diverse. A group of people who would be impacted by the internal workings of a small town in profound ways that intersect but are also unique and troubling.
I feel like a lot of this story is me going "yup... that tracks" when something happens that does feel into my pre-conceived notions of how a small town would engage with and deal with the particular issues at hand.
I know this is unfair in a lot of ways and it did make me stop and wonder if LaRocca was writing from personal experience, general stereotypical knowledge, or held beliefs?
I did find myself needing breaks from the contents of the books. Don't get me wrong, I am no stranger to a dark and traumatizing book, but something about this one just hit so differently... I am wondering if it was feeding off of my own concerns over treatment I might receive as a trans person in those places.
Harnessing real fears and concerns of those within the communities of the characters to make the struggles and pain feel more real.
I also wonder.... if maybe this would have been less needed had I been reading with my eyes and not my ears.
On that note.. the audio was really good. I loved the flow and tone that Andre Santana brought to the story. The depth that was given to the hard moments and the emotion that was brought into the characters.
Overall, I am happy that I read this book and I am curious to pick up more of their books in the future. I would recommend this book so long as I also gave them the laundry list of trigger warnings.
Literally my only major critique is that there is not a connected list of trigger warnings provided by the author/publisher on the listings.
***I was provided a copy of this book via NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion and thoughts about what I read.***
It was an amazing book, but also such a hard and emotional read.
I don't think that I was fully prepared for what I was getting myself into when I started this book. I am still glad that I did read it though.
***Content warnings for this book:
This story is told to us in a narrative form that follows multiple people who are effected by the events happening in the small Connecticut town of Henley's Edge. Our cast of characters is varied and diverse. A group of people who would be impacted by the internal workings of a small town in profound ways that intersect but are also unique and troubling.
I feel like a lot of this story is me going "yup... that tracks" when something happens that does feel into my pre-conceived notions of how a small town would engage with and deal with the particular issues at hand.
I know this is unfair in a lot of ways and it did make me stop and wonder if LaRocca was writing from personal experience, general stereotypical knowledge, or held beliefs?
I did find myself needing breaks from the contents of the books. Don't get me wrong, I am no stranger to a dark and traumatizing book, but something about this one just hit so differently... I am wondering if it was feeding off of my own concerns over treatment I might receive as a trans person in those places.
Harnessing real fears and concerns of those within the communities of the characters to make the struggles and pain feel more real.
I also wonder.... if maybe this would have been less needed had I been reading with my eyes and not my ears.
On that note.. the audio was really good. I loved the flow and tone that Andre Santana brought to the story. The depth that was given to the hard moments and the emotion that was brought into the characters.
Overall, I am happy that I read this book and I am curious to pick up more of their books in the future. I would recommend this book so long as I also gave them the laundry list of trigger warnings.
Literally my only major critique is that there is not a connected list of trigger warnings provided by the author/publisher on the listings.
***I was provided a copy of this book via NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion and thoughts about what I read.***
Graphic: Medical content, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical trauma, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Excrement, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Biphobia, Child death, and Vomit
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