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zeeck07's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual assault
beetitnerds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I liked all the characters in this book, I liked the jump between perspectives, and the answer to the mystery is good (if predictable to genre-familiar readers). The Epilogue was one of my favorites I've read in a long time. I loved the thoughtfulness with which the author wrote about mentally ill and disabled characters, and I loved the strong and distinct female cast.
My biggest criticism in this story is the pacing. It's a rather short book, and there was a lot of exposition to get through. I enjoyed the exposition, and I enjoyed getting to know the characters, but it meant that the setting- which is almost its own character- didn't get to shine as much as it could have. We didn't get to spend much time building up the suspense and creepiness of the location, which is a shame, because I think this story could have used the documentary framing device to its advantage to give us an excuse to actually see the ironworks, for example. It's also a shame that we didn't see
Graphic: Ableism, Death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual assault
nnnghhh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Grief, Suicide attempt, Blood, Body horror, Death, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
gondorgirl's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Gore, Grief, Rape, Blood, Death, Dementia, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
theborky'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Sexual assault
weatherbee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Sexual assault and Child abuse
j_squaredd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Ableism and Sexual assault
cuddlygryphon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Death, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol
chouxlette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
At first I was like there’s no way these characters are older than 20, but Alice says she’s 29 so I’m guessing everyone else is around that age. It’s first person perspective, but Alice talks like someone who is much younger than she actually is hence why I didn’t believe she was close to 30.
The writing style eers on the YA side and it feels like this was written as a YA novel then the author later decided to age up all the characters. There needed to be more showing of certain actions, emotions, feelings etc rather than just telling.
The plot is the most interesting aspect of the book and the only reason I kept reading. I was hooked and needed to know what happened and why. It feels like the author wrote this with the intention to get it turned into a film or tv show. Some parts of the book feel like instructions to a camera which is weird considering this is a novel and not a script.
Comparing this to Midsommar and Blair Witch Project is definitely a bold choice. The novel isn’t bad—I finished it after all. It definitely needed more character development, stronger sentences as well as description.
I wouldn’t recommend this to older readers or anyone who reads above a high school reading level.
The YA crowd would definitely eat this up as well as anyone who likes a creepy story or is just bored.
Lastly, The authors note at the beginning shouldn’t have been there. In my honest opinion, we should be able to know a book is about mental illness without being told it’s about mental illness and how women get treated due to their mental illness.
The author note forces the reader to already have that conclusion and not question the very questionable representation of mental illness. If the author really wanted it in the novel, it could have gone at the end, but setting up a novel like that almost makes me think the author had no real confidence in what was being written about.
Graphic: Rape, Ableism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Miscarriage
ahixon1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism and Abandonment
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Death, Grief, Rape, Suicide attempt, Gore, Medical content, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit