Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

34 reviews

kyliesh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

A book that I’ll truly think about for years to come and possibly a rare reread one day! I was completely immersed in the story and found that the author wrote several characters in such a way that you understood them through their complications. Very well written, intriguing, and unique.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Gore, Murder, Bullying, and Pedophilia

morebedsidebooks's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, Blood, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Alcoholism, Animal death, Car accident, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Trafficking

Minor: Racism, Homophobia, Cancer, and Death of parent

Also contains scenes of genital mutilation and substance abuse.

vlpfeiffer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense

• 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

3.5

I've been curious about this book for quite a while and finally picked it up. I had seen the movie when I was much younger and remember the atmospheric and tense vibes that really appealed to me. After struggling to get through halfway I watched the film again and realized I much prefer the film, which is a rare phenomenon. But watching it did get me to finish the book to finish the comparison. 

There were several arcs that seemed unnecessary and it seems that the filmmakers felt the same. Several characters I was forced to slog through with little to no connection to the plot until the end. And the relationship to Hakan, which

in the film was more mysterious and felt more like a genuine father/daughter or thrall situation turned into an unnecessarily disgusting portrayal of a pedophile who has latched himself onto this child vampire in an attempt to assuage his proclivities by way of justifying it through the lens of 'she's not REALLY a kid so it's okay'. All the while some of the most vile descriptions of sexual attraction and behavior towards children seemed unnecessary and just there to horrify. Which, duh, horror, but for my personal tastes was not a thread I was happy about.

 

Otherwise, things were neatly tied together with a hint of sweet justice for Oskar's antagonists and a deserved outcome for Hakan. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Murder, Torture, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

kaanda's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

Extremely dark in so many ways, but fantastic at holding tension. Truly horrific.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Suicide, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Fatphobia, Murder, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Kidnapping, and Sexual assault

mccalab's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Alcoholism, Rape, Pedophilia, Bullying, Addiction, Child abuse, Self harm, and Blood

Minor: Trafficking

gatsbyonabudget's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

One of the best horror books I have ever read. It’s both scary and incredibly sad. A morbid coming of age story 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Violence, Body horror, Murder, and Pedophilia

cantfindmybookmark's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Suicide, Blood, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, and Animal death

sargasso_c's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

The book starts pretty strong, lags a bit in the middle, and definitely picks up towards the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Sexual assault, Violence, Torture, Medical content, Bullying, Murder, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Gore, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Suicide, Terminal illness, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Minor: Excrement, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, and Mental illness

sphinx_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A 3.5 or 4 stars.

With so many characters and happenings in this book, I tried my best to think what is the overarching theme. The best I have is that everyone has their own circumstances, some way grimmer than others. And while the lives of the characters here tangle in a mess, they end up the cause and effect, the reason for someone's pain, etc. - all of their actions stem from how they were taught around them and how their lives had been. They try to live comfortably or move forward in a way they know. For example,

Johnny (unfortunately so) follows his brother's footsteps because he looks up to the latter.

Lacke buries all what-could-bes through alcohol until it was too late.

Tommy, probably not over his father's death, can't agree with his mother having a new relationship so he thinks of rebelling or stripping himself away from the household instead.

Virginia... deserved so much more.

The list can go on, and the characters makes so much sense because of their narratives and backstories presented. (Except for Hakan, lol. Fuck him.)

My heart goes out for many characters but mostly for Eli and Oskar. Two kids who only want to find connection and play, just like any kids should without having to be bullied. Without having to be chasen around. With all the "flaws" the people see around them, they don't see it as such. They appreciate each other which is wholesome af in a very dark story as this.

There were so many parts that were difficult to read. I abhor the bullying (and all unspeakable things. iykyk) but what made me stay with the story are truly the characters. The characters, man. The characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Bullying, Homophobia, Violence, and Body horror

Minor: Rape

__luiza's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Child abuse, Blood, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, and Sexual assault