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kayleyb's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Animal death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, and Violence
dmsullivan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
So, I think I enjoyed this...as much as one can enjoy a book that includes graphic descriptions of murder, animal cruelty, and genital mutilation.
Frank is not someone you want to be around, but it was interesting getting into his mindset, his daily routines and the rational of why he would do the things that he did (as terrifying and gruesome as they were).
This is a pretty short book, but at times it did feel a little too long with some of the descriptions of the mundane parts of his day. I wish the author would have used some of that space to give a little more background on the "twist" ending, which felt a bit rushed. And while Eric was terrifying, I personally wanted some sort of "answer" by the end, which we really didn't get. (I kept looking to see how many pages were left and wondering if we were going to get any answers by the end). However, this is the first book I've read by Banks (not the last) and this is possibly his writing style. Stories don't necessarily have to have an "end" to be thought-provoking.
Frank is not someone you want to be around, but it was interesting getting into his mindset, his daily routines and the rational of why he would do the things that he did (as terrifying and gruesome as they were).
This is a pretty short book, but at times it did feel a little too long with some of the descriptions of the mundane parts of his day. I wish the author would have used some of that space to give a little more background on the "twist" ending, which felt a bit rushed. And while Eric was terrifying, I personally wanted some sort of "answer" by the end, which we really didn't get. (I kept looking to see how many pages were left and wondering if we were going to get any answers by the end). However, this is the first book I've read by Banks (not the last) and this is possibly his writing style. Stories don't necessarily have to have an "end" to be thought-provoking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Torture, and Death
keerak's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
_egg_wash's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny and Gaslighting
thomasdj's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Murder, Torture, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Domestic abuse, and Body horror
Moderate: Misogyny
carlyalynnsia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
If you like or can cope with books narrated by psychopaths, you might really enjoy this one. It came to me highly recommended and I’ll grant that the main character is certainly interesting.
I was curious to find out more about Frank’s internal logic, but ultimately, his calculated killing of animals, including three children, became too disturbing and put me off. I put the book down.
I was curious to find out more about Frank’s internal logic, but ultimately, his calculated killing of animals, including three children, became too disturbing and put me off. I put the book down.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Murder, Animal death, and Child death
anapauggarcia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved it!
It is so scary just to be in the kid's mind!
I am so glad I got to read this book, it has been by far one of my favorite horror books I've ever read.
First, let's talk about the main character: Frank. OMG, he is scary! He is a kid and young adult, and a psycho in the same mind. The beliefs he holds in his head and the obsession he has with every single aspect of his life just scared me so much.
I was more scared to be in his mind that to read what was going on around him.
It scared me so much the line that took the story, from making us disgusted with this kid to actually understanding him. It was such a great story, I have never enjoyed that much being in the villain's mind.
Then his brother...OMG he is also scary! Every telephone call they have I will just get super scared. I was so tense until they hung up. The way the brother spoke made him sound even more unstable than Frank, and all we knew was that he was coming our way.
The only complaint I will have would be that the book kind of makes us think that the story will be about the encounter between Frank and his brother Eric. So during the entire book, I was waiting for these scenes to happen, and the resolution to this feels kind of rushed and super short. I was expecting more from this plotline.
But it was also interesting to get such an immersive sight of the protagonist's life. As I said before, it was impressive how we started hating him and then we understood.
I wasn't expecting such a good plot twist. I thought the story was going to go in another direction, but WOW. It really changed my perspective toward the main character and made me question if someone could really get that evil for the same reason as he did.
It was a great book. My mind was completely blown away. I give it 5 stars easily.
It is so scary just to be in the kid's mind!
I am so glad I got to read this book, it has been by far one of my favorite horror books I've ever read.
First, let's talk about the main character: Frank. OMG, he is scary! He is a kid and young adult, and a psycho in the same mind. The beliefs he holds in his head and the obsession he has with every single aspect of his life just scared me so much.
I was more scared to be in his mind that to read what was going on around him.
It scared me so much the line that took the story, from making us disgusted with this kid to actually understanding him. It was such a great story, I have never enjoyed that much being in the villain's mind.
Then his brother...OMG he is also scary! Every telephone call they have I will just get super scared. I was so tense until they hung up. The way the brother spoke made him sound even more unstable than Frank, and all we knew was that he was coming our way.
The only complaint I will have would be that the book kind of makes us think that the story will be about the encounter between Frank and his brother Eric. So during the entire book, I was waiting for these scenes to happen, and the resolution to this feels kind of rushed and super short. I was expecting more from this plotline.
But it was also interesting to get such an immersive sight of the protagonist's life. As I said before, it was impressive how we started hating him and then we understood.
I wasn't expecting such a good plot twist. I thought the story was going to go in another direction, but WOW. It really changed my perspective toward the main character and made me question if someone could really get that evil for the same reason as he did.
It was a great book. My mind was completely blown away. I give it 5 stars easily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Body shaming, Gore, Animal death, Blood, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
This book might not be the best for people that would not feel comfortable understanding certain reasons why someone could certain violent acts.andrea96's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Animal cruelty, and Torture
Minor: Xenophobia
bumble_abi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.0
The first person voice is remarkable, even as Frank is utterly psychopathic he's also strangely sympathetic, and the prose is disarmingly lovely. I had a great time with this novel, it was blackly funny and vivid and horrible and handled it's themes deftly and cleverly. I found myself a little frustrated by the last few pages, which felt a little too explanatory for my taste (like 'this book is ending soon, let me tell you what it was really about just in case you haven't worked that out for yourself yet') but on the whole this was immensely enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Murder, and Animal death
Minor: Suicide and Racism
ajsj456's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Death, Animal cruelty, and Animal death