Scan barcode
theacousticfuneral's review
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Incest and Sexual content
furaleii's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I LOVED IT. When I decided to read, I was really unsure of it-- the idea of a bunch of children getting tortured wasn't exactly my idea of an amazing time. However, I had it recommended to me by a friend who I strongly trust with their book opinions, so I gave it a chance. I am so glad I did, because it was SO MUCH MORE and better than I ever expected, and I was hooked. I will say, there was more mentions of coprophilia than I would have liked at the beginning of the story, though it was not a regular occurrence and was overall only there for the disgust factor and to make the villain seem more taboo and disgusting (which it did succeed in).
"Playground" is if the hunger games involved a walk-through room of horrors style murder park and a bunch of actual children at the mercy of the park, instead of at the mercy of each other (though that can be one in the same). The last one at the finish line being the "winner" and getting to continue the Geraldine legacy-- something that, despite the financial gain, literally no one would ever want.
Geraldine, the main "bad guy" is... well, horrible. She's disgusting, horrid, cruel, and every other bad word I can think of-- something that I think equals a great villain character. Similar with Fuchs, secondary bad guy. The book doesn't necessarily have a main character-- it focuses on the group of kids assigned to the playground, the parents, and the owners of said playground. That being said, I Rock was the main character of this story in almost every other sense of the word. We learn the backgrounds of the kids and their families pretty early on, but Rock stays mostly a mystery-- we know bits and pieces that we can put together into a lovable-- if not extremely morally gray-- character. But by the end of the story, I had become so attached to everyone in the book. I was hoping for Rock's story to evolve and I found myself celebrating along with the characters in the book when they did something well, or rooting for certain characters over others to survive.
Character well-being spoilers-- [ Because of my eventual attachment to every character, each time a child died in the playground, I was a lot more strongly invested in a character death than I would have been had it been nothing but gruesome horror. It was gruesome, definitely, but it was the way the characters were shown as real people that actually made it influential to me. I guessed Isaac's sacrifice early-on; however, when it did hit, I was still very distraught because I had come to root for him to finish the playground (though I was SO glad he got rid of Bobby in the meanwhile).
"Playground" is if the hunger games involved a walk-through room of horrors style murder park and a bunch of actual children at the mercy of the park, instead of at the mercy of each other (though that can be one in the same). The last one at the finish line being the "winner" and getting to continue the Geraldine legacy-- something that, despite the financial gain, literally no one would ever want.
Geraldine, the main "bad guy" is... well, horrible. She's disgusting, horrid, cruel, and every other bad word I can think of-- something that I think equals a great villain character. Similar with Fuchs, secondary bad guy. The book doesn't necessarily have a main character-- it focuses on the group of kids assigned to the playground, the parents, and the owners of said playground. That being said, I Rock was the main character of this story in almost every other sense of the word. We learn the backgrounds of the kids and their families pretty early on, but Rock stays mostly a mystery-- we know bits and pieces that we can put together into a lovable-- if not extremely morally gray-- character. But by the end of the story, I had become so attached to everyone in the book. I was hoping for Rock's story to evolve and I found myself celebrating along with the characters in the book when they did something well, or rooting for certain characters over others to survive.
Character well-being spoilers-- [ Because of my eventual attachment to every character, each time a child died in the playground, I was a lot more strongly invested in a character death than I would have been had it been nothing but gruesome horror. It was gruesome, definitely, but it was the way the characters were shown as real people that actually made it influential to me. I guessed Isaac's sacrifice early-on; however, when it did hit, I was still very distraught because I had come to root for him to finish the playground (though I was SO glad he got rid of Bobby in the meanwhile).
anni_ly22's review
Bad writing and terrible plot. The female villain was not written well at all. Very misogynistic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Body horror, Torture, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Incest, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Mental illness
sierrawinter01's review against another edition
3.0
This was my first splatter punk book and it was okay. The only uncomfortable part of the book for me was the Geraldine scenes (like page 40). The rest of the book wasn’t that bad and was a bit predictable.
The author is a bit juvenile. I’ve never heard so many innuendos or synonyms for a vagina in my life.
If you take out literally all the parts about Geraldine none of the plot would be damaged. It’s so unnecessary and irrelevant to the actual story you could skip it all and get the same plot.
Also the Nazi was also a throw away add on. Who makes fucked up inventions? Oh of course it has to be a German nazi….stupid
Rocks relationship with Danny is stupid in my opinion. Why save him at the very end? He was in danger the whole time why crack after majority of the kids died? So dumb.
I wish the ending would’ve focused on the parents and kids changing their idea of normal and coping vs Rock.
Rip CJ
The author is a bit juvenile. I’ve never heard so many innuendos or synonyms for a vagina in my life.
If you take out literally all the parts about Geraldine none of the plot would be damaged. It’s so unnecessary and irrelevant to the actual story you could skip it all and get the same plot.
Also the Nazi was also a throw away add on. Who makes fucked up inventions? Oh of course it has to be a German nazi….stupid
Rocks relationship with Danny is stupid in my opinion. Why save him at the very end? He was in danger the whole time why crack after majority of the kids died? So dumb.
I wish the ending would’ve focused on the parents and kids changing their idea of normal and coping vs Rock.
Rip CJ
aclypse's review
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
It is a very average book that blew up on tiktok apparently. I found out about it thanks to this lady here: https://youtu.be/aoWD_LlOJZY?feature=shared, and despite that I have heard the whole story, I was quite intrigued to read and… get some ideas, to say xddd.
I agree that the book’s concept does remind of The Saw with the torturous devices, and to be frank, the torture scenes are written nauseatingly and grotesquely. as a person who eats while reading… yeah…
the most disturbing scene in my opinion was the sex scene at the beginning. I even shouted out in disgust while reading it.
and despite that the book is very short, i found myself finding some favorites. I sympathized with Donnie the whole time and with Rock as well. Even Molly turned out to be quite charming. I also found myself caring for Isaac, but… the death of his sisters is unjustified and his own death is ironic as he died together with the person who hated him the most -_-.
on the other side, i felt that the children were coping with their fait easily. I would expect someone in their position to protest and cry, but all of them just ‘continued playing the game’. Besides, many deaths were soo unnecessary (which is explainable considering who’s the author), especially Donnie’s mother at the beginning. Some deaths were literally hilarious, like Greg’s wife for example.
And also, Geraldine is a sick woman.
And last, the best quote in the world: ”But I-I’m your mother…” ”And I’m a motherfucker.”
jcritchienovels13's review against another edition
2.0
This is my second extreme horror book. I want to preface this by saying that I am a hardcore horror fan, and nothing really makes me squirm or cringe. This story was no exception to that. The concept was interesting, it's not every day that you read or watch material that includes children being included in a "saw-like" death game situation. So, when I heard about this book on TikTok I just had to check it out. Well, I have to say that I was pretty disappointed. I feel as though most of this book was just for shock value and honestly the book could have done without the gross sexual material within. The main focus would be the kids getting out alive, and I know that there has to be a reason this villain in this story chose to do this, but I just felt that the reasoning behind their depravity just fell through. Something else could have been the motive, hell let's be honest anything else could have been a motive. The main reason I am giving this book two stars is because the writing is absolutely juvenile and not one character in this book made me feel anything. The story done nothing for me at all either. Sure, some of the playground traps were cool but it wasn't enough to save the story in my opinion. One of those "Go home and try again" situations.
elioot's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Wow did this book not disappoint in many ways. I won't lie and pretend I didn't see rumors on booktok and wanted to see it for myself how bad it could be and it was true. 'The Scene' was definitely disgusting but reading on it does end up playing a major part in motives. The book itself felt like one of the Saw movies but done with children instead. Speaking of characters I really do think that the characters designed well. There really was no doubt that basically every character had their own unique personality minus the proclaimed twins but that was there shtick. It also was definitely a horror book start to finish but also played into some interesting ideas that many people don't think about. Finally without spoiling the ending turned out super symbolic to the point that it was like the perfect cherry on top. Overall a great read that deserves more appreciation!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Sexual assault
imreading_leaveme_alone's review against another edition
5.0
This book was really good, going into this book I was very open minded and just wanted to enjoy the way the story was written instead of focusing on the gruesome facts.
The worst part of this book was the disgusting
The worst part of this book was the disgusting
vee63884's review against another edition
2.0
This book isn’t really scary its just gross. Specifically gross for being the sake of gross. I didnt care much for the kids that died but the concept was interesting at least (Iguess). If you take Saw x Squidgames x a dash of cocomelon this might just be what you get.
alikenzie's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0