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clovetra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
- the ambiguous references to disney????? SOLD. especially in that final scene with liz, i literally burst out laughing oh my god
- the bus scene too??? holy shit??!?
- the gore in this book in general!!!! oh my god was it spectacular. i think this is my favourite book in terms of how the gore was written because my god. it teeters the line between unrealistic and entertaining so well
- maeve herself. insane. witty. somehow relatable. i love her.
- gideon too. he is amazing, i love him, i want to be him, i want to be maeve with him. Yeah.
- there was no plot to this book and i didn’t care. maeve captured my attention so well i didn’t care at one point i was just following her life.
- the writing. is so. good. oh my god.
- the ending????? i started crying. i started crying at the ending because i loved this book so much holy shit
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide and Medical content
sofipitch's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Definitely had some horrific parts but sometimes I felt like the author was a little frugal with descriptions. I also saw someone say the last 1/3rd was pure gore but also not really. Not the book's fault but in case anyone reads this before reading the book you will feel less let down bc that was how I felt. But I will be reading more by this author holy shit. I might feel inclined to give it 5 stars but I don't want to have to see the cover when it pops up in that display section lmao
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Excrement, Vomit, and Grief
mswarning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Murder
Minor: Eating disorder
avkeenan's review
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Terminal illness, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, and Vomit
biobeetle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Excrement, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal cruelty and Suicide
katizwitchy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My first thought after finishing this was "I need to walk this off."
Man, what a novel. If you have the stomach to read this, please do. Yes, it is awful and grotesque at times, but oh my god it is also ART. Women being horrible, complex, violent beings in the way men have been allowed to be for years is a perspective I didn't know I needed. The scariest thing about this novel is how easily you can find yourself agreeing with Maeve, seeing the line of thinking, right up until the brutal reality hits you full force and you feel the weight of shame and disgust for ever even slightly agreeing with her.
I cannot put into words how this novel affects me, other than saying that I will be thinking about it for a very long time. Where the R-rated scenes started to lose me, Leede would hook me back in with a beautiful piece of prose about grief, identity, and the depravedness and inherent evil that exists in simply being human. This book makes you confront the parts of yourself that are a bad person, even when you're nowhere near Maeve's level of bad person.
I didn't like American Psycho the film, mostly because it gave me anxiety from all of the violence against women, but switching the narrative and confronting our gendered understanding of violence made me approach with curiosity instead of fear and disgust. And I think that's what I'm left with. I have so many questions I'd love to ask the author, and lots to think about in terms of how I approach typical horror media.
If you don't have a stomach for some of the things I've described here, or aren't ready to confront darker shades of humanity than you deal with in your day-to-day, then don't read this. There were definitely parts that made me viscerally uncomfortable, as all good horror should have. But there were also very poignant commentaries on the idea of what makes an idol, what separates good and bad in a person, and what lies in between.
I don't know that I could pick up this book again. And, in my opinion, that's what makes a great psychological horror story.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
whatkatyread87's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
paperbackbookies's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Maeve is a complex and also seemingly predictable character and yet I couldn’t stop reading, waiting to see how she’d unknowingly ruin her life again and again, over and over, never getting a moment of peace because it’s not what she deserved. It was like a reward watching her life fall into ruin after all she did and all she’s ever done.
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Vomit, and Stalking
Minor: Cannibalism
lots of disturbing sexual parts, slight cannibalism, drug use, and a sexual assault that only lasts for a page but is still graphic and mentioned later again in the bookheathclifff'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
2.5
like obviously the character is supposed to be unlikeable and a sociopath but i’m not sure the excessive SA was necessary.
i just didn’t really feel anything about it. promising from half way but it just fell flat and the twist at the end wasn’t particularly surprising compared to how maeve was reacting on the screen.
interesting female descent into madness, i guess, and study of generational violence/trauma, idk..
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit and Cannibalism
matchamarimo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Abortion