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moxiereads's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
crystal689's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit and Religious bigotry
Minor: Drug use
judassilver's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Drug use and Infertility
bookishb03's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Wish there was a tad bit more explanation of what the creature looked liked (maybe that's why I wasn't as terrified of it, it's description was a little lacking-besides the claws lmao.)
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
eusteph's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
I've been longing for a book that would scare me and keep me at the edge of my seat and Christina Henry delivered. At no point throughout this entire story did I know what would happen next. Mind blown.
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping
esterie's review
3.5
for what i liked:
-the introspective narration and monologue of the main character. she has a dual monologue that intensifies as they story progresses and she remembers events from her past, fluctuating between "mattie" (present) and
-the writing style was very good and each character had a distinct voice/mannerisms. for instance, one of the characters rambles as he speaks and tends to go off on short tangents, felt very real as to how some people speak under duress.
and now for what didn't land for me:
-the abuse/abduction story line (versus the monster in the woods story line) was of more interest to me. it was gruesome and horrifying in its own right, and the domestic violence-related triggers are NOT used lightly! but, i genuinely feel that the monster could have been removed COMPLETELY from the story, and barring one or two incidents, the rest of the story would have remained the same. it just didn't give the creature-horror i was hoping for.
-speaking of, also wasn't a huge fan of the "sympathetic" lean of the monster? it's just a lone parent caring for their child, which i understand is in contrast to
-CP was.... frustratingly dismissive of mattie, saying things like "come on / pull yourself together / stay on track", even saying this MOMENTS after mattie finds newspaper clippings of
-sometimes the text was repetitive. mattie will think "i need to find out what's in the trunk" and literally the next chapter thinks the exact same thing word for word. this isn't a long story, so that level of repeatedly explaining plot points and character thoughts was starting to annoy me. just a bit.
-also, like, genuinely upset that griffin died. he seemed like a good dude (see scene described below).
ALL THAT SAID lol, the writing style WAS very good, as was the depiction of domestic abuse (the inner monologue of the character, PTSD, not even felling safe from her abductor in her own thoughts, etc.) and would be interested in reading more from this author. it's just the monster stuff, for the most part, that didn't land for me.
quotes/passages:
-It just seemed that the light of the morning should make everything better, that a new day ought to wash away the terror of the night.
-the scene when griffin meets mattie for the second time, showing anger that her "husband" left her outside to possibly die: mattie has never experienced someone being mad on her behalf and not directly at her and she doesn't know how to process that. big oof.
-[...] the past lying over her present like two pieces of a puzzle that didn’t fit together. (as mattie has flashbacks that she can't place)
-Mattie wanted to scream to the heavens. Griffin Banerjee was a very kind man, she could see that, but he needed to learn to listen when she spoke. (in the context of HER being in an abusive situation for 10+ years i thought this was very cathartic!)
-Mattie shook her head, felt the grief swelling inside her, pushing against her skin, making her feel like she would burst. How could she live with this? How could she ever feel whole again?
My mother is dead. What happened to Heather?
What if William had killed her, too, killed her smiling sister who built fairy houses in the yard and danced with Mattie—not Mattie, Samantha—to loud music and built forts in the living room out of blankets and pillows? What would Mattie do then if there were no one to go home to?
-I don’t know what kind of person I am. William took that from me.
-Mattie didn’t believe in happy endings. She didn’t even believe in happy middles. It was only at that beginning part of the story, when you were young and didn’t know any better, that you could be happy and carefree. Once life piled up on you, happiness was impossible.
-once mattie starts to remember her past, including a dream of flying like a bird, she wonders to herself if she would rather be the mouse (cowering, afraid, meek and making herself as small as possible to evade punishment) or or the falcon (free).
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Miscarriage
unbeeleafable's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
emilee's review against another edition
William's dialogue was very "I am bad man. You wife, you my property. Me, man. Me own wife." It was kind of cringe.
Reading other reader's reviews and frustrations, I don't feel the need to finish the book as it seems that many questions do not get answered.
I also agree with a reviewer being annoyed that Sam/Mattie talked...like...this....
Was not the book for me. If it was the book for you, cheers
Moderate: Sexual assault and Kidnapping
aparker89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Death of parent, and Murder
skranz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, and Death of parent