Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

61 reviews

ehmannky's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

This book was creepy and weird and queer in all senses of the word. I fucking loved it. It's a dense read, and at times it felt a bit overwhelming. Danforth portrays the oppressive nature of the haunted school area incredibly well, and the mental break some of these characters experience, that it felt like I was having a empathetic experience with them.  Also, I love a good use of fictional footnotes, and  Danforth uses them so well throughout the novel. 

I didn't particularly love the reveal of the source of the curse at the end, and would have preferred if it had stayed much more abstract, but the rest of the book is so good that it kind of renders that complaint to a far off and distant concern. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death

Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Biphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder

mengzhenreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

An ambitious, queer, gothic horror book that was just an absolute delight to read. The spooky vibes were immaculate and this was just a lot of creepy fun.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, and Suicide

Minor: Sexual assault and Pregnancy

julesadventurezone's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

cjblates's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Child death, Death, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

spiderwitch's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, and Drug use

Moderate: Dementia, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Biphobia

reviewsandreadathons's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Car accident

terpsichore1674's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This time jumping, atmospheric, romantic sprawl of a horror (?) novel upends convention -- much like its rotating cast of plain, bad heroines. Though it lags in some places and races breakneck (Readers, I used that word for a reason!) through others, it somehow all works. Except for the ending. Which doesn't NOT work, it's just ...

It feels rushed and missing context, like a Scooby Doo villain reveal during the historical portion and a little too pat and tidy in the modern day scenes.

That being said, the characters are richly drawn, the scares aren't too scary, the plot is built like a Matryoshka  doll, and the narrative rides like a vintage Jaguar.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Pregnancy

erinsbookshelves's review against another edition

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Homophobia, and Grief

librariangeorgia's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Violence

achillea's review against another edition

dark lighthearted slow-paced

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

Please don't get your eyebrows pierced with rings I'm begging you

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, and Sexual content

Moderate: Homophobia and Vomit

Minor: Biphobia, Fatphobia, Stalking, and Murder