Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Horrid

All the spooky vibes just in time for Halloween! The structure of the book overall was clever, with different lines of a nursey rhyme for each chapter/section. While I wanted a bit more character development, it definitely worked well for this time of year. Leno is great at writing description, really pulling you into this spooky house.

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mapscitiesandsongs's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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michleea's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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keelin's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

This was creepy. I will say there was one moment with Jane where I was like "babes, come on, use your brain." but other than that, I enjoyed it.

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catsy2022's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

Rating: A-

An unexpectedly dark YA horror novel, Horrid by Katrina Leno was a lovely, fast read and a great addition to my 2021 reads. Ruth and Jane move across the country from California to Maine after Greer, Ruth's husband and Jane's father, dies. But the North Manor where Ruth grew up holds mysterious secrets, a locked room in the back and a rose bush that seems to overpower the yard it grows in.

I definitely enjoyed reading about Jane and Ruth's strained relationship and the interaction between Jane, her friends and the other townspeople. I felt that the unravelling of the mystery may have been more interesting that the final reveal. So many parts of this book are strange and unexplained, just bordering on absurd. Seems that Jane has unbridled rage simmering below the surface and anything could set her off. She seems to completely black out when this happens. I loved the interaction with the other characters when this happens and how shocked and unsettled they are. I definitely enjoyed the moments in the house where things are completely scrambled and then back to normal. I liked the bonding moments between Ruth and Jane. The interwoven grieving and new beginnings were great points in the book.

I did like the final reveal but I felt the book ended all too abruptly - with little resolution as to the other plotlines. Definitely a fun, short read.

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ravensandlace's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Find this review and others like it at https://aravenclawlibraryx.wordpress.com

Pica: an eating disorder that involves eating items that are not typically thought of as food and that does not contain significant nutritional value such as hair, dirt and paint chips. This is according to the National Eating Disorders website. Nationaleatingdisorders.org

Wowowowowow! What an absolutely FANTASTIC book. I loved every single minute of it. I stayed up way past my bedtime trying to finish this book. The only reason I didn’t finish it in one sitting was because my eyes were burning. That’s how much I loved this book. I never wanted it to end. It kicked my reading slump that I had been in.

The minute I read the first page, I immediately had a very unsettled feeling and that feeling never went away. I loved every single minute of this unsettling feeling. It reminded me of watching Sinister, one of my all time favorite horror movies. I just knew something was going to happen and whatever was going to happen wasn’t going to be good. The creep factor was done just beautifully.

I enjoyed Jane as the main character, which I didn’t think I would. She was unlikable at times but I found I didn’t mind that. She was very complex and had so many layers to her. You see her angry and I actually loved that. I don’t read about a lot of girls with anger issues. It was refreshing. I truly thought her anger would make me not like her at all but I found her anger was the best part of her character. Weird to say, I know. But it was just refreshing. Jane was so so angry and I felt for her.

Another fascinating thing about this book was the mention of pica. Jane has pica, which I provided a definition for you at the top. I know that not a lot of people know what pica is or understand it. I have worked with several clients that had pica. It’s a very interesting and difficult illness. I don’t know what it’s like to have it but working with the clients I have, I can only imagine what it would be like to have it.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. It’s one of my all time favorite books of 2020. The reason why I gave this book 4.5 stars is because the ending was a bit of an open ending. I’m personally not the biggest fan of open ending books. I prefer knowing specifically what happens to the character. But other than that, this book was absolutely amazing and I loved it so very much.

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coolmombeck's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Fast read and creepy. Leno wrote a perfectly accurate description of pica (eating of non-food items as comfort during stressors for people that struggle with specific OCD). While I truly enjoyed the book, the ending left me saddened. I thoroughly enjoyed the addition of the love of Agatha. 3/5 stars.

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