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madinhoa's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Emotional abuse, Dementia, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Confinement, Child death, Child abuse, Car accident, Cannibalism, and Animal death
bookbelle5_17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
By: Stephen Chbosky
Christopher and his mother, Kate, escape from her abusive boyfriend to a small town in Pennsylvania. They are safe and content until Christopher gets lost in the Mission Street Woods for six days. When he is found he is smarter, with a strange touch, and the ability to hear people’s thoughts. He is asked to build tree right before Christmas by a mysterious voice while his touch has a bizarre touch that makes people mad with hate.
At first, I borrowed this from the library, but I had to buy so I could take my time without having to worrying about returning it. Christopher’s heroes’ journey is heartbreaking to read as we watch him struggle with everyone’s burdens being carried on his shoulders. His powers start out and something he can be proud, because he is getting smarter and helping people or so it seems, but things turned bad soon enough. It starts out as him having nose bleeds, but he sees how his touch effects people in negative way. He just wants to help people like his mom and friends, but there is a cost. This is one of those horror stories where at first, I didn’t know if he was imagining things or if this was really happening, but when things started showing signs of the chaos beginning it was pretty clear this was really happening. The Imaginary World has a nice a mixture of it seeming fun, but with a subtle hint of eeriness that makes it an unsettling place. There is a surreal quality to the imaginary world. The story partially takes place in one of my favorite settings in horror, a small town. The setting of a small town adds a bit claustrophobia to the story and the town’s folks eventually trapped literally and metaphorically. It looks at different kinds of bullying and abuse. Parents abusing their kids resulting in an endless cycle or bullying between kids. This also explores good vs. evil through a child’s eyes making it terrifying as kids are a lot more vulnerable. One of the creepiness aspects is the mailbox people. These are people with stitched eyes and mouths, who are slaves for our antagonist. I was quite surprised by something that happens at the beginning of the final battle.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Torture, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, and Pregnancy
seawarrior's review
- 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
3.0
It's difficult for me to gather much more to say about the book since it's so expansive, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to others. I did think the horror was written well, but the true source of it felt trite to me and I'd really been expecting something more original. If you do read it please review the list of content warnings, which is nearly as long as the book itself.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and War
sandpiper22's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Suicide, Self harm, Dementia, Child death, and Blood
Moderate: Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence
Minor: Domestic abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Animal death, Alcoholism, and Addiction
mydearwatsonbooks's review against another edition
Graphic: Bullying, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Suicide, Gore, War, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Ableism, Infidelity, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Vomit
ruminations's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Religious bigotry, and Bullying
kait_sixcrowsbooks's review against another edition
However, about 40-45% of the way through I was starting to get a bad feeling about the different allegories, so I decided to look up spoilers, and I ended up being right. If you’re wanting to read this book for spoopy horror, and not some weird Christian “good vs evil” tripe, look elsewhere. If I knew what I was getting into beforehand, I would’ve steered clear of this one.
Moderate: Sexual assault, Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Dementia, Gore, and Vomit
katenovah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Medical content, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Bullying
smolkeri's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Car accident, Child death, Dementia, Drug use, Gore, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Torture
Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Kidnapping, and Misogyny
lycheejelly's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Incest, Infidelity, Infertility, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Trafficking