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smylieman's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
itsheyfay's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse
sterregeertsema's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt
destinyf1988's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Suicide attempt
pages_with_puppies's review against another edition
4.5
It was giving very much campy teen horror movie think Jennifers Body x Stranger Things. The chapter titles being songs was a hugely welcomed addition I was getting songs stuck in my head left and right.
The half star reduction was for that one scene near the end
I was a bit bothered at first by the way the author wrote and portrayed female friendships in teenagers but after a bit it definitely started to come off as a caricature and like it was being purposefully exaggerated not just a case of men writing women poorly. I was even able to relate to the girls and their friendships a lot although sometimes it did go a little far.
And lastly who said it was ok to make me cry at the end of a horror? That ending hit so much harder than I was expecting.
Would recommend if you are into the supernatural, 80’s, female friendships, coming of age.
Would not recommend if you are looking for a straight up horror with no deeper meaning.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Drug use, Car accident, and Death of parent
nessafurtado's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Ps. It’s about demonic possession - the demon does some crazy not family friend stuff so be aware there’s may be something triggering for you.
Moderate: Animal death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Alcohol
skylarkblue1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
This was a conflicting read for me. On one hand, I love Grady’s other works and really enjoy his writing. On the other hand….. Were these many slurs needed (*literally*) constantly? I get it’s the 80s, but everyone knows those slurs and bigotry went unchecked heavily back then and it’s included in this book as just throwaway jokes and not really any commentary about that of the time.
This book is essentially the story of someone’s best friend being slowly possessed more and more as time goes by and everyone around them just seems to.. Not care. She’s trying to kill others and being seriously down-right evil but no it’s everyone around her who’s the problem - including the main character.
This book is incredibly slow, the odd moments happening here and there and like 85% of the book is just the main character trying to get *anyone* to believe their - what seems to be - insane story.
I loved Horrorstör so when I saw this one was another of his highly acclaimed books I needed to read it. But now I’m just kinda… confused? The horror wasn’t overly good and I didn’t really feel like there was any tension there. The only parts I reacted to was the
The ending was certainly a mixed bag. Badly timed attempts at comedy in the middle of what should have been tense and emotional, even more slurs randomly thrown in, abuse and then a very emotional bittersweet ending slightly ruined by the fact they’re “just” best friends (very minor spoiler on this topic:
I think the ending could have saved a decent chunk of this book without the slurs and the “best friend” syndrome, but with those it kinda just fell a bit flat to me.
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Cultural appropriation
jbfletcher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, and Classism
rachelunabridged's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child abuse, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Classism
Minor: Rape
chelford's review against another edition
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Child abuse and Death