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mapscitiesandsongs's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, and Mental illness
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Pregnancy, and Suicide
corvidprince's review
dark
mysterious
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
4.5
this book was more truly deeply disturbing than scary, but it was still good. it really didn't have the same terror as a true horror book would, but it's remarkably uncanny. I supposed this can be horror in its own right, but if you're looking for a horror book to make you lose sleep at night instead of a horror book that will deeply disturb you then this book is probably not for you. admittedly, I did see the twists coming and one of them was particularly predictable, but they were good nonetheless. other than that? I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Murder
natreviews's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I have pretty complicated feelings with this book.
I went back and forth whether to give this book a 4/5 or a 4.5/5. I think I'm learning that I'm growing out of the writing style of YA. I found the family/friend relationships to be kind of cheesy at times, but the horror to be frozen in your seat terrifying.
This book alludes to Agatha Christie's Poirot Mysteries a lot of the time. Like one of those novels, I found the ending to go to great lengths to explain itself, and fall flat a bit. It's a complicated ending. It makes sense when you sit with it, but you just aren't there for it. I found that similar to Junji Ito's Uzumaki (a.k.a. Spiral for English readers). That you didn't want it to end there, but it does.
I think this book sets out what it's intended to do, and if I was younger I would really enjoy it, but as a 22 year old, it just doesn't hit the way it could've.
I went back and forth whether to give this book a 4/5 or a 4.5/5. I think I'm learning that I'm growing out of the writing style of YA. I found the family/friend relationships to be kind of cheesy at times, but the horror to be frozen in your seat terrifying.
This book alludes to Agatha Christie's Poirot Mysteries a lot of the time. Like one of those novels, I found the ending to go to great lengths to explain itself, and fall flat a bit. It's a complicated ending. It makes sense when you sit with it, but you just aren't there for it. I found that similar to Junji Ito's Uzumaki (a.k.a. Spiral for English readers). That you didn't want it to end there, but it does.
I think this book sets out what it's intended to do, and if I was younger I would really enjoy it, but as a 22 year old, it just doesn't hit the way it could've.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent
sunsetcity's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
lish_e's review
dark
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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“And when she was good,
She was very, very good,
But when she was bad, she was horrid.”
Jane’s habit of eating pages was interesting, and the cover is absolutely gorgeous.
But it had some elements that are often used (girl moves to a different town, into an old house that has a dark history everybody knows but no one talks about) and so the plot twist wasn’t a surprise to me. Still, it was a pleasant read and the build-up to the climax was good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Eating disorder, Bullying, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Animal cruelty and Suicide
leahrosereads's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
While there were some genuinely creepy parts, on the whole this was pretty predictable. I also felt like it needed to be at least 30-50 more pages to develop some inconsistencies and characters, or it needed to be edited down by about that many pages. There were just several holes in the plot, unnecessary characters and not enough development on the horror elements.
I loved the main character's descent in here though. It was maybe the most ominous part of the story.
I loved the main character's descent in here though. It was maybe the most ominous part of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
sunshinestark's review
3.0
Horrid is a story filled with grief and ghosts that blurs the line between what's real and what's not, leaving you to wonder whether Jane's haunting is the result of mental illness or the dead who can't - or won't - move on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
ravensandlace's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder and Mental illness
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Violence, and Self harm
gm_vak's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Torture, and Violence
coolmombeck's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Bullying, Violence, Death, Confinement, Child death, and Animal death