Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis

12 reviews

jalynn's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

bookcaptivated's review

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Stalking, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Slavery and Vomit

honeymadison's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

toriwatson's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Vomit, and Death of parent

beccaglasserbaker's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Torture, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

emily_mh's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Conceptually, this book had a lot going for it. A horror sleepaway camp located at the site of the murders of an imprisoned serial killer is already super compelling, yet Ellis elevates even this by incorporating a supernatural twist. For me though, the execution needed to be better.

My first problem was with the tense/POV combo, which was present/3rd person, which always reads weird to me. To make matters worse, there were TONS of grammatical errors where the tense switched to past and then back again, sometimes even in the same sentence. This lack of quality was disappointing.

My second problem was that the supernatural elements didn’t always make full sense to me, or were inconsistent, in part due to sometimes being explained in a slapdash manner. The whole story depends upon these elements, so it did leave the book feeling weaker in places.

By no means do I think this is a bad book, though. While the story took until about a third of the way through for its inciting incident to occur, which is not ideal for a thriller, I was hooked from then on in. I thought Ellis did well at balancing quieter character moments with tense “run for your lives” scenes. I also think this book delivered on its promise of being scary.

There was some interesting character-work too. I mean, the MC’s set-up is that she is returning to where she used to live to find the body of her mother, who was killed by her serial-killer father. Some moments in her journey needed more emotional weight, but overall I was really taken by the way that Temple was desperately seeking closure, and that she was resolute in her values throughout. Her character development regarding trusting in others was a touch rushed, but the circumstances were admittedly exceptional!

I don’t think I’d recommend this book to everyone, but if you’re looking for a supernatural horror that will hold you in suspense, then keep this on your radar!

Rep: Black lesbian MC with asthma

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence and Vomit

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Biphobia, Bullying, Confinement, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Major: missing loved one Minor: loss of a loved one, imprisonment, insects, capital punishment, fainting, disordered eating

raesreadingcorner's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

kajoreads's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The gore and body horror really delivered. The slasher vibes were on point. And if I was rating this based on that alone, it’d be 5 stars. Ellis did an incredible job making it all gross and unsettling.

This is more of a taste issue, but I did not particularly like the twist.

I’ve noticed I tend to dislike twists that feel like they undermine the premise.

 

I did enjoy Temple and her dad's relationship. It was a twisted, abusive one, but it felt real. The flashbacks were well implemented imo.

Overall, it’s a strong debut. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for this author.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Ableism, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Medical content, and Cannibalism

blakeandbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Thank you to NetGalley, Harry N. Abrams, and RB Media for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

At first, I honestly didn’t know if I was going to enjoy this book, because I was constantly getting go distracted while listening like it wasn’t capturing my attention enough. But wow! I was so surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this story. It definitely reminded me of You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron, which I also enjoyed. 

It was so wild, and I love when a book has me anticipating what comes next. Temple’s family??? WILD. I was not expecting any of that! And I love how she is able to find a found family/real friendships in the midst of all the insanity that happens at the queer, girls camp. It’s a great YA horror novel, and I am looking forward to more from Sami Ellis!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

courtneys_shelves's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia

This book is incredibly intense, as it covers topics of abuse and family curses. However, for this who can read it, it Carrie’s an ultimately hopeful message, and watching a hopeless character grow to realize that she does indeed have hope and support and is ultimately good is worth the read.