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linneak's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Violence, Torture, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Physical abuse, Stalking, Alcoholism, Bullying, Gun violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
reclusivebookslug's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
On one hand, this book has an incredible ability to suck you in and keep you reading. Given the length of the book, I thought it might be more slow-paced or take its time on the exposition, but I was pleasantly surprised at how instantly gripping it was. It was very emotionally engaging and affected how I felt even when I was not actively reading it. At turns, it is scary, disturbing, sad, funny, and endearing. I was interested in the themes of generational trauma, cycles of abuse, and society's complicity in the evil of a few that allows suffering to spread.
On the other hand, I didn't enjoy the religious overtones of the latter part of the book and the reveal was something of a disappointment. It was grand in scale but not in emotional resonance for me. Sometimes plots of such cosmically huge proportions lose their impactfulness for me because they feel less personal. The very ending, in particular, I don't like.
The depictions of mental illness aren't the best. This is in line with part of a larger issue with the horror genre using mental illness as a plot device. There's also a very positive and uncritical depiction of a sheriff, which seems out of touch with the reality of the role of law enforcement.
The subplot of Mary Katherine's virgin pregnancy is annoying. The book ending with the implication that the baby will grow up to be the next pawn in the nice man's plan to escape Hell is such a disappointment. Despite the huge scale of the conflict, the resolution doesn't seem to reach that level of importance. Sure they escaped disaster, but it is only a temporary solution to a problem with no end in sight. I didn't expect them to kill the devil and rid the world of all evil or anything, but they didn't do anything to stop or change the cycle, they just created a slightly happier ending to this one circuit.
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Medical content, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicide, Mental illness, Torture, Kidnapping, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, and Child abuse
Mental health-related triggers are the biggest ones. They use a lot of common horror tropes like: not being able to trust your own thoughts; paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions being real; being constantly watched; the world ending; everyone but you and those close to you being crazy or out to get you; etc. which were upsetting to me, and I don't even have particular mental health reasons that make them triggering to me.buecher_und_huehner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Dementia, Murder, Addiction, Animal death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Blood, Bullying, Medical content, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Suicide, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Pedophilia
abbyg007'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Death, Car accident, Child abuse, Dementia, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Suicide
britttobegorey94's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gore, Torture, Domestic abuse, Rape, Child death, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, and Gun violence
Minor: Pregnancy
eternalbutt'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
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Death, Gaslighting, War, Addiction, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Dementia, Rape, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Suicide, Torture, Abandonment, Classism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcoholism, Confinement, Blood, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Gun violence and Alcohol
glowbruise'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
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