Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

30 reviews

bri_of_the_shire's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The intersectionality of if Mean Girls was a supernatural thriller, and also queer. Explores themes sisterhood, queer identity, and the righteous anger and hunger carried with femininity.

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shadowykittenwizard's review

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challenging dark emotional funny fast-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

4.0


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samisreading's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

4.0


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squids_can_read's review

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

3.5

Imagine a mix of Heathers, Mean Girls, and werewolves and you get this book. 

The world-building and story were super interesting and I would love to read more about it. I just thought that all of the characters fell flat. I really just didn't care about them at all. There was also a relationship that I didn't feel had any development, which I didn't like. I almost want to read more in this universe to understand more about the characters. 

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brie_without_the_e's review against another edition

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

3.25


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rachelditty's review against another edition

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

2.75

There were a lot of things in this book I wish had been touched on more, most specifically being Becca's relationship with her mom, which seemed troubled throughout the entire story aside from the ending. Becca's mom is constantly putting things on Becca that a teenager shouldn't have to think about or hear come from their parent's mouths, but Becca hears it too often from her mom. 

I thought the ending was fitting for the story.
Having Arianna die for her mistakes, Amanda joining a different pack, and Becca and Marley being freed from the pack. I feel like there's an analogy in there somewhere about the constraints of what's expected of young girls, especially those in the closet, but I think it would've been portrayed a lot more effectively if there were more members of the pack, and the pack from Stanford, that were queer as well, not just Becca and Marley. Werewolves are historically used as an allegory for the outsiders, for queer people, or those who society has deemed "other" and "infectious." Having both leaders of the packs be (what seem to be) straight white rich girls seems so out of the scope of what werewolves could be.

Marley and Becca were pretty cute toward the end, but I really wasn't hooked on their relationship. It didn't feel like Marley was ever a member of the group that went against Arianna, only Amanda ever really did that. If Marley had had more moments where she grappled with Arianna's way of doing things, I thought her relationship with Becca would have been more interesting. 

Also, as much as I didn't like Arianna, I didn't like that she was killed by girls she thought were people who would always have her back, in the same place she was drugged and almost assaulted. The whole point of the story was girls taking back power from boys who saw them as nothing more than a means to their own ends, and the girls were always supposed to take the power back from them. But Arianna dies behind a dumpster where a boy almost sexually assaults her? Yes, I think it was the right call for her to die, but the way it happened just felt wrong.

Becca and Marley were cute in their prom dresses though, so I guess points for that.


The illustrations were the best part of this, to be honest.

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emilysreadingbooks's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5


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gothmiku's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-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

3.0


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thebookbin's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

 At work yesterday I finished Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall. This is a YA graphic novel, which I would describe as a teen revenge fantasy à la Jennifer's Body. Becca has just moved to a new school and she's desperate to fit in. When she gives a stranger a tampon in the bathroom, she is launched into a whole new life wherein she is initiated into a pack of man-eating werewolves. Except these werewolves are a pack of teenage girls. The story is a lot darker than I'd expect, and honestly I thought it would be a lot better as an adult graphic novel rather than YA. In order to keep it YA they gloss over a lot of the horror elements, which almost makes it even more horror-y but unintentionally.
When the pack alpha upsets the leader of another pack, they kill her and Becca and her girlfriend eat her heart out, literally so they can stop being werewolves. Then Becca and her girlfriend go on a date to homecoming lol.
 

I mean I did like the themes of female rage, and I definitely appreciated how they only went after sleazy guys, but the fact that they couldn't confront some themes and plot elements because it was YA really took away from it for me. 
Overall I think I'm a fan of this sapphic spooky read, I just wish it embraced itself in all its gory glory. 

4.5/5 eat your heart out stars

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kristakp's review

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mysterious tense fast-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

4.25


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