Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Troop by Nick Cutter

28 reviews

alitas123's review

dark 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? N/A

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Self harm, Violence, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Vomit

smolhandsdan's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad 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? N/A

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Death, Gore, Animal death, Child death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Child abuse, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Self harm, Violence, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Torture

rat_leoo's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Self harm, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit

mewpasaurus's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Normally, I'd be keeping (and re-reading) any book I rate this highly, however, Nick Cutter's The Troop is an exception; it's too gruesome and descriptive when it comes to wanton animal cruelty. It's incredibly well written and engaging and it definitely does body horror well (something I find hard to find in written works), but I just don't care to re-read accounts of squishy, gross torture of animals and the whiny, teenage narratives of the main characters.

If you like body horror, you'll probably find this is a good/fast read. It's also worth noting that while the characters aren't necessarily likeable, they are not two dimensional and do seem to be complex in the way I would say most pre-teens/teenagers tend to be, which made it more believable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Vomit, Child death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Animal death, Homophobia, Murder, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Gore, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Death

bites_of_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.5

I buddy read this with a friend and I'm very glad that I did because I needed to talk about it with someone as I read certain parts of this book. We follow a group of boys and their scout leader as they face the horrors of someone showing up at their camp with some strange illness. The things that happen in the cabin and then in the woods are brutal and really make the kids do things that no one should ever have to do. Some of the kids try their best to act rationally while others... well, they choose to do things differently. I will not say much because this book should be experienced without knowing too much about what's happening. 
Please check content warnings, do not eat while eating, and just read with care. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Violence, Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Self harm, Torture, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, and Confinement

rosaelia's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow, this one was absolutely amazing.
I dropped (not DNF'd; I'll pick it back up eventually) Cows for this one. And boy oh boy, am I glad that I did.

I grew to love

the last character, Max.

The ending was somewhat confusing, though?

Did Max end up actually infected? If so, how? Did the worms stay dormant and hidden inside of him somehow?

Anyway, it was a fabulous read! Sort of a slow start once it focuses on the boys, but it was very worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gore, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Fatphobia, Death, Self harm, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Eating disorder, Child death, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Torture, and Mental illness

Moderate: Cursing and Vomit

Minor: Excrement and Alcohol

silverwings95's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Suicide, Body shaming, Bullying, Gore, Murder, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Confinement, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Cursing, Mental illness, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Excrement

that_cow_girl's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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

4.5

This book simultaneously disgusted me and broke my heart. It didn’t take long for things to start happening and then it just kept coming. This book literally wormed its way into my head and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It also referenced Anne of Green Gables twice which is my favorite book, and I thought it was hilarious that THIS was the book it was referenced in. I loved the characters of the Scouts. Each boy was so unique and fascinating. I DID have to skip the part about

Shelley killing his mom’s cat. I can handle a lot of gore and all that, but cats and dogs I can’t handle. I also sobbed my eyes out at the part with the turtle.

if you like nasty books, consider this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Medical trauma, Cursing, Fatphobia, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Torture, Animal death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Gaslighting, Self harm, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Child death, Eating disorder, Confinement, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Abandonment, Gore, Grief, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

amsswim's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

If you are into horror I highly recommend this one. Atmosphere and story were there for me even listening to the audiobook, gave me chills a few times lol. Def go through the trigger warnings though as needed, the descriptions were detailed. Alternating POVs were really good here too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Vomit, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Terminal illness, Torture, Body shaming, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Animal death, Body horror, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Addiction, Cannibalism, Cancer, Abandonment, and Vomit

erica_reads_things's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

This was such a tough book to get through. I loved the premise, Nick Cuttlet set up such a world of dread and constant fear, the writing and overall theme was so well done. But the level of animal cruelty really got to me. I know, I know....human cruelty is fine but animal cruelty makes me squeamish? I don't get it either but the way he wrote was just so....vivid and compelling that it gave me such a visceral reaction. I really had to push myself past the 3/4th point into the final quarter because it was just....a lot. For that reason I would have rated it higher but that took a lot out for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Body shaming, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Self harm

Moderate: Violence, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia

Minor: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Vomit