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ghost_story's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Racial slurs, and Homophobia
journeywithrosie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wouldn't call this book a "horror" necessarily, and so I can understand why some people might not like it. Perhaps they went in expecting a fast pace thriller horror book. This book is slow and thoughtful, a tense psychological character study. Yes, there are some horror-filled scenes in the haunted house, but the majority of the book is detailing each character's life leading up to the event, their internal struggles and motivations, and ultimately how they all intertwined.
There are multiple timelines - before Quigley house, the court case after Quigley house, and the present day. There are also multiple POVs. That being the case, there are a lot of moving parts. You'll have to pay attention, at least I did! I usually don't like multiple timelines and POVs, but Mattson did an amazing job with it, I was hooked on each part of the story, and each character felt fully realized and developed, even the most heinous ones.
The reason I am rating 4 instead of 5 is that the more I think of it, the more I wish I got a bit more from the ending of the story. There are a lot of things I wished we were able to see that we never got to. Also, although I loved the social commentary aspects of the story, there were some scenes where it felt like it was a bit hand fisted, which made the dialogue feel forced and fake.
I'm a fan of Mattson, really looking forward to seeing what he publishes next.
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Body horror, and Racism
bebidocrimes's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Death, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, and Body horror
ouijabroad's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
As others have said,
Also, LOTS of fatphobia. Anyone described as beautiful or good looking is always thin, but anyone who is in a larger body we need to be reminded all the time that they are large and jiggle etc etc especially when it came to Rae. An unlikeable fat character who talks about food???? How original.
This author talks about racism, stereotyping and xenophobia, but I think he needs to examine his own biases.
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Car accident, Death of parent, Blood, Body shaming, Homophobia, Murder, Stalking, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Cancer and Adult/minor relationship
soph_solberg's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Bullying and Homophobia
megwilli's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Racism and Alcohol
hmn54437's review
- 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
5.0
That’s the only word bouncing around in my brain as I finish this book. James Han Mattson has flawlessly stitched together a gut wrenchingly important story of the harsh realities of racism, fetishization, and dehumanization of POC in America.
Each perspective we read from offers a different insight into each of these topics climbing higher and higher revealing more and more until we reach the peak in Cell Five.
Between this reveal and Leonard and Jaidee’s racism and fetishization, we’re left with an absolute gut punch of a novel. Paired with Mattson’s gorgeous prose and dialogue and the phenomenal combination layout of court scenes, character explorations, and moments inside the Quigley House this book was everything I wanted and more.
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Violence, and Murder
emily_koopmann's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Racism, and Misogyny
d3nim_diva's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Homophobia, Violence, Racism, Xenophobia, and Torture
sammies_shelf's review
- 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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Racism and Violence
Moderate: Blood and Gore