Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

74 reviews

axel_p's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I love bugs.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Alcohol, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Blood, Dementia, and Injury/Injury detail

thebankofbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death of parent, Gore, Child abuse, and Blood

leeghlee's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Cursing

Moderate: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Alcohol, Body shaming, Gaslighting, and Grief

Minor: Medical content, Mental illness, Dementia, Sexual content, Child abuse, and Stalking

vixenreader's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

An unsettling yet enjoyable read, this Southern Gothic story reflects on how nasty traditions and rotten ideologies can be lurking beneath the sweet-smelling rosebushes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Toxic relationship, Torture, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, and Death

Moderate: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Physical abuse

Minor: Vomit and Abandonment

Be warned that this book addresses generational trauma, C-PTSD due to abuse from a parental figure, abuses with the occult, parental neglect, swarms of insects, and one mention of semen in the occult ritual.

emilywemily6's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This book was so fun- is cozy horror a thing? The main character was hilarious and relatable, and I found myself laughing out loud a lot. There were definitely creepy elements, and I really didn’t know where the story was going, though in retrospective it was a well-thought-out storyline. I enjoyed the cast of characters and their depth. I wish that there was more horror, especially for the first 3/4 of the book, but there were horror elements throughout, I just hoped for more. I think more horror earlier in the book would have helped the pacing a little bit. This is a great intro to horror, though I could see that some people may still be really spooked by it. I listened on audio and loved the narrator *except* for their Phil voice. Overall, this made me excited to read other stuff by the author!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcohol, Racism, Animal death, and Death

Minor: Drug use, Cannibalism, Medical content, Grief, and Sexual content

emmonsannae's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was such an excellent quick read! The plot was a catch from minute one, the pace is quick but not rushed, and the characters are a delight. What really makes this story is the narrator’s voice and personality—she is so real, deadpan, and well rounded as a character, and she really sells the story. It was so refreshing to have a narrator for whom being fat is a prominent characteristic while not being a consuming or a worrying one (her being an entomologist was a huge bonus).  If anything, I feel like the book could have been a little longer with a little more lead-up to the ending—I wasn’t completely sold on the resolution, but I think I might have been with some more buildup. This is a minor qualm. A great spooky October read!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Fatphobia, Death, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Blood

ezwolf's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This was…interesting? I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I loved have a fat main character and having her fatness and the way that change how she interacts with the world and the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Dementia, Grief, and Animal cruelty

ghosthermione's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

As always, amazing book by T. Kingfisher. Very creepy, and I loved how the underlying topics, around the backstory for the character being there and her relationship with her grandmother, being discussed in stark detail and sarcasm, but with a lot of love for the main character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Fatphobia

fatphobia coming from other characters towards the main character; past psychological child abuse being discussed, and current psychological abuse on the page.

julesadventurezone's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I liked the creepy and mysterious beginning more than the action packed end. The narrator is very funny and relatable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body shaming, and Blood

Moderate: Cursing, Animal death, Racism, Bullying, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Mental illness, Self harm, Body horror, and Medical content

Minor: Vomit, Cultural appropriation, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Classism, Dementia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Murder, and Racial slurs

zghutcheson01's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.5

This was a fine book but a little slow at the start and then very fast at the end. Everything made sense and I don’t think anything needed to be explained more necessarily but it felt like the speed didn’t match the tone always and there could’ve been more added to make it feel less like a cool idea clunkily fused to an obvious metaphor. Phil also didn’t really feel like a character as much as an object but eh it didn’t bother me that much. That all sounds bad but I legitimately enjoyed it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, and Blood

Moderate: Confinement, Cannibalism, and Child abuse