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flamesocks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Car accident, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Biphobia, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Pregnancy
ekmoore11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Forced institutionalization
thekatreturns's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Racism, Violence, Car accident, Murder, and Pregnancy
Insects, specifically yellowjackets, feature heavily in this book. They are included in nearly all of the horror elements. For me, graphic=extremely unavoidable, long, plot crucial elements. moderate= plot or thematically relevant, but don’t stand out as particularly graphic. Minor=not described in detail.owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I loved this! The last 600 page novel I read was Dune and in some ways that felt like such a slog in comparison to this. I occasionally had issues - pauses that lasted too long, issues with the pacing - especially when the beginning and middle felt like they were building to something that wasn't quite carried to fruition by the culmination of Alex and Libby's plot and the modern Hollywood plot. The tone at the start was also interesting to adjust to, with a very camp Gothic element - often an interesting shift when the narrator themselves is a bit of an all-knowing, anonymous character (and frequently reminds the reader of this).
That said, all of these are minor quibbles in an otherwise fun and absorbing take on queer horror. Danforth has a brilliant grasp on when to employ terror and when to employ horror. The novel has lots of potential themes but ultimately seems to be about the dangers of spectacle, not unlike my other horror favourite of this year, Jordan Peele's Nope. I also loved Harper, Audrey and Merritt's characters, who are all complex and three-dimensional. Merritt was especially interesting and accurate as a survivor of bereavement by suicide, and someone who came to writing and success young and is now floundering in her 20s.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia
ksgoetz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
eve_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
⁕ Danforth's ability to flesh out characters is strong, but comes at the cost of a painfully slow narrative. Even though I appreciated the depth of the contemporary characters (Meritt, Audrey, and Harper), it took FOREVER for them to be united and on the set of Brookhants. Once there, only a minimal amount time was spent in the spooky gothic setting that I picked the book up for in the first place.
⁕ I was disappointed with the weak connection between the contemporary storyline and the historic one. There was so much potential for a paranormal overlap (or, at the least, a metaphorical one), but after hundreds of pages of build-up, both storylines diverged and went their separate ways? It was infuriating!
⁕ This book did have its moments. The unreliable, self-aware narrator gives major Lemony-Snicket-tells-ghost-story-vibes, and when the action did move forward I was gripped by it. I just wish these features of the book had been more consistent.
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Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Lesbophobia
kharlan3's review against another edition
Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Yellow jackets feature heavily in the horroreleanora'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
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Dementia, Car accident, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
decie's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Grief, Murder, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Hate crime, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, and Pregnancy
bookburdy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Pros
- The narrator was my favorite (hilarious and talking to you specifically) I recommend the audiobook!
- I enjoyed the creepy crawly bits (the yellow jackets)
- Loved the atmosphere and the writing
- I liked the multiple points of view.
- It was trying to be too many things.
the ending was so boring.. nothing even happened?? - Too long for no reason.
- No diversity (barely any POC)
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Sexism, Vomit, and Lesbophobia