Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

35 reviews

beanaroni's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This may be coming from a part of my mind still processing Lou Sullivan's We Both Laughed in Pleasure, but Monstrilio feels so remarkably transmasc (and autistic!) to me. I'm utterly fascinated by Sámano Córdova's mind and how, whether he intended to, he has so succinctly managed to capture the insatiability that comes when you've tasted the truth of your being and the ache of diminishing yourself for those you love.

They are happy to believe I forgot how they maimed me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use

vbarsi's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Body horror

Moderate: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol

michaelion's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I've never read a book where the characters are gay and it's not central to the plot and have that book be anything less than 4.5 stars. Gay for no reason! Gay people being people who also happen to be gay!

I'm clawing at reasons not to give this 5 stars. The best books leave me speechless in my reviews, and this is one of them despite the fact I do have a lil sum sum to say. There's something about it that left me hovering just under 5 stars. M's section alone is worth 5 stars for sure, but for the others I was like oh this book is a 4.25, 4.5, and then M blew it out the park. I love books that leave me with an empty lingering feeling in the pit of my stomach. What an excellent writer. Such beautiful descriptions. I left this book hungry and enjoyed my meal. As a person with an unhealthy, complicated relationship with food, know that's quite a task. And then the story? W O W . I love when families ❤️ There's truly layers to this. And it was so hard renting this from my li rary it doesn't seem to stay on the shelves, FOR GOOD REASON !!! I WILL be buying it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Medical trauma, and Abandonment

onlyincursive's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

Somehow devastated me and gave me hope at the same time. An interesting look at the ways people handle grief and the challenges of living in a world where you’ll never fit in.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Violence, and Medical trauma

Minor: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Excrement

le_mur's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Deadnaming, Terminal illness, and Medical content

Minor: Child abuse

abril_chavez's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This books was captivating from beginning to end. The author’s depiction of grief is nothing short of raw. I was right there with each of the characters going through the motions. The horror components to this book do not cheapen or lessen the message conveyed, instead, those moments force you to look at grief straight in the eyes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Medical content, and Cannibalism

chasingpages1's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Torture, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Alcohol

r_o_s_e's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Ableism, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Chronic illness, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol

tifftastic87's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Monstrilio is a tale of grief, told in four parts. The story starts with the death of a little boy and follows the family as they grieve. The first part follows Magos, who cuts a piece of her dead son away and uses it to grow a new boy. The next part follows Len, the best friend of the couple, then Joseph, the father, and lastly Monstrilio himself. 

Each of these characters is so unique, all dealing with their own issues outside of grief. Magos has a strained relationship with her mother, Lena suffers from severe insomnia and was abused by her own mother, Joseph has some pretty bad depression and Monstrilio, well he's just hungry. Like really hungry. 

Honestly, everyone in this book needed therapy. 

Currently I'm listening to Pet Sematary and this is kind of like, if Lewis could have brought Gage back but it all worked out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content

sweetsimplenothing's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual content, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, and Death of parent