Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

9 reviews

bababookmatt's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a character driven book. The protagonist, Judas Coyne, is an aging, pessimistic, misogynistic rock star. Not a character that typically elicits sympathy for me. However, behind the plot we do see growth, and by the end he calls the women he dates by their name, and not just the American state he met them in. Without loving him, he felt real, and earned my respect. The relationship dynamics are excellent. The horror component was a little ho-hum; a ghost haunting. Judas and his entourage are being haunted by a ghost and Hill doesn’t waste time convincing the reader it’s a haunting as opposed to mental illness, natural phenomena, etc. I appreciated this. It’s established and not something that needs doubting or suspicion. There’s a snuff film that Judas owns that is very unsettling, and while it’s mentioned a few times, I struggle with finding how it fits in to the larger story. This didn’t bother me, but I found it to be a loose end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Drug abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, Violence, Abandonment, Child abuse, Suicide, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug use, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

outofthepinksky's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Rape, Blood, Self harm, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Fatphobia, Suicide, Animal death, Drug use, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Cursing, and Death of parent

river_severn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

stephanieluxton's review against another edition

dark sad 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? Yes

3.5

This book really isn't what I thought it'd be. I didn't find it scary but I did find it reasonably stressful. It's essentially about a man who becomes haunted by a ghost and sets out to uncover the truth about the haunting and find a way to free himself of it. There's some really excellent character development and I do like the story unfolded in a way I didn't expect. The story had a medium pace. I think it would have been better if it was either a fast paced thriller or if it was more of a slow burn horror that built a sense of dread. The second half of the book is better than the first!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Mental illness, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Incest

There are two graphic dog deaths in which injuries are fairly detailed. The antagonist in the book tries many times to make the protagonists kill themselves or eachother via hypnosis. It's also revealed later that he used hypnosis on his stepdaughter so she wouldn't remember him sexually assaulting her. Sexual assault of minors is another theme throughout the book although it's not described in detail.

cmaples's review

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Sexual violence, and Rape

Moderate: Sexism, Abandonment, Alcohol, Drug use, and Animal death

dreamdoughnut's review

adventurous dark funny 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, Suicide, Animal death, Cursing, Child abuse, and Violence

Minor: Car accident, Terminal illness, Drug use, Incest, Vomit, and Body horror

jenna_justi2004's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

booksof_fern's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, and Self harm

Moderate: Car accident, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence

beetsnotbombs's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Torture

Moderate: Animal death