Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

The September House by Carissa Orlando

40 reviews

judassilver's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Violence, Vomit, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cursing, Suicide, Dementia, Cannibalism, and Grief

Minor: Self harm, Forced institutionalization, and Fire/Fire injury

zeroshi's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

I feel like this book hits different for victims of ab*se. This isn’t simply a haunted house book and while that part is done amazingly this is a commentary on breaking cyclical toxic patterns. Also the fact this is a debut novel??? Amazingly well done by the voice actor as well. Absolutely fell in love with the main character and her troop of pranksters. The daughter was a LITTLE IRRITATING at forst but once you realize what the book is REALLY saying you see the struggle she has with seeing her father in herself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Addiction, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Dementia, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

lucylou's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

3.75

Interesting addition on a haunted house genre. Definitely check the content warnings before reading (domestic violence, child death, and gore being very graphic).
Minor gripe about this book: the author almost only describes characters’ eyes as “wide,” so often that it was actually distracting. 

I read 3/4ths and listened to the last 1/4th, and I would recommend listening to the audiobook- Kimberly Farr does a fantastic job.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Child abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Vomit, Alcoholism, and Animal death

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Cannibalism, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness

tabookish's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Gore, Physical abuse, Animal death, Blood, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Dementia

throwback682's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious 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

This would’ve been a 5 star for me except for the stigmatizing of mental illness/painting mentally ill people as violent. There’s even a passing remark that mentally ill people aren’t typically violent but it rings hollow given the context. I find it really upsetting and tired. So, minus 1.5 stars for that oppressive nonsense. 

As someone said on Reddit, “I think that it’s an entertaining ghost story that is better as a deconstruction of abusive relationships.” and I couldn’t put it better myself. If you’re not reading this book as allegory then you’re fucking up. Part of me thinks the comparisons were laid on a bit thick, but given the amount of people who didn’t seem to read it this way, maybe not. I also thought it was very funny, especially the early chapters, but again many folks don’t seem to see the humor. 

Yes I guessed a twist way ahead of time but it was also sort of not the point - a slight red herring for a bigger twist. 

In short: it was a funny, spooky book, that dealt with very heavy and potentially triggering subject matter in a novel way. 

I think everything people complained about in other reviews (the annoying, infuriating daughter; the repetitiveness) all served a purpose. I think it worked really well. 

I just wish it hadn’t relied on ableist stereotypes/stigmas against mentally ill folks, is truly my only real complaint. 

Read with caution if you’ve been a victim of intimate partner violence. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Ableism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcoholism

Moderate: Child abuse and Confinement

Minor: Forced institutionalization

Tons of body horror and blood throughout, including involving children. The entire book is an allegory for an abusive relationship involving alcoholism. Mentally ill people are stigmatized as violent.

randeerebecca's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Child abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, and Abandonment

moiralyle's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Murder, Addiction, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Child death, and Grief

anissawren's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Suicide, Murder, and Police brutality

Minor: Dementia, Self harm, Cannibalism, and Forced institutionalization

nerdydeathwitch's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious 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

4.5

I loved this book and while I guessed some of the twists, it was really about the psychological journey of the main character who finds herself in a very haunted house, and in that regard, it really pays off. The book opens with a lot of dark humor, but gets more serious as it progresses and you learn more about the back story of the home owner and the ghostly inhabitants. Towards the end the pace picks up as does the level of body horror. The final quarter is pretty gruesome in a way that will be very satisfying for people who appreciate visceral horror. The writing itself is great, incredibly descriptive and on point for the reality of what it takes to survive abuse as an ongoing lived experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Body horror, Child death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gore, Child abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Abandonment

This is a horror novel so there should be no surprise that it contains lots of blood and murdered ghosts. But FYI, the writing is very descriptive. You will be told about wounds and the experience of being murdered in graphic detail.

If you have a background with DV, CPTSD, or are a child of alcoholics, this book could be both validating and triggering so just know what you're getting into. The family dynamics are incredibly accurate and the MC's self identity and worldview is shaped by abuse.

mrsbliss's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Body horror, Child death, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide