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sarahkmcl's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Self harm, Pregnancy, Death, Child death, Body horror, Physical abuse, Murder, Child abuse, Torture, Gun violence, Gore, Emotional abuse, Car accident, and Blood
linneak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Violence, Torture, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Physical abuse, Stalking, Alcoholism, Bullying, Gun violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
elisammansur's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Domestic abuse, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide, and Gun violence
ecrew's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Child abuse
soyboi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Also, it bugged me that all these other characters, like Brody and Jenny and the librarian, are the Hissing Lady’s henchmen toward the end because they’re LITERALLY BEING ABUSED. Like, Jenny is being molested by her brother and when she’s under the Hissing Lady’s power, she wants to punish the brother. But imo, the little fucker SHOULD be punished. Why are we making that Satanic? Sounds like justice to me. Anyway, I’m not a fan of being beaten over the head with bible stories. Gag me.
This book was LONG AS HELL. So much of it us extraneous details and the same words and sentiments repeated over and over.
The half star is for the narrator of the audiobook, who has a great voice and was able to give each character a little something different. Props to her.
Graphic: Death, Dementia, Mental illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Torture, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, Murder, and Physical abuse
kconley15's review against another edition
- 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
1.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Self harm, Death, Pedophilia, Gore, and Suicide
reclusivebookslug's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
On one hand, this book has an incredible ability to suck you in and keep you reading. Given the length of the book, I thought it might be more slow-paced or take its time on the exposition, but I was pleasantly surprised at how instantly gripping it was. It was very emotionally engaging and affected how I felt even when I was not actively reading it. At turns, it is scary, disturbing, sad, funny, and endearing. I was interested in the themes of generational trauma, cycles of abuse, and society's complicity in the evil of a few that allows suffering to spread.
On the other hand, I didn't enjoy the religious overtones of the latter part of the book and the reveal was something of a disappointment. It was grand in scale but not in emotional resonance for me. Sometimes plots of such cosmically huge proportions lose their impactfulness for me because they feel less personal. The very ending, in particular, I don't like.
The depictions of mental illness aren't the best. This is in line with part of a larger issue with the horror genre using mental illness as a plot device. There's also a very positive and uncritical depiction of a sheriff, which seems out of touch with the reality of the role of law enforcement.
The subplot of Mary Katherine's virgin pregnancy is annoying. The book ending with the implication that the baby will grow up to be the next pawn in the nice man's plan to escape Hell is such a disappointment. Despite the huge scale of the conflict, the resolution doesn't seem to reach that level of importance. Sure they escaped disaster, but it is only a temporary solution to a problem with no end in sight. I didn't expect them to kill the devil and rid the world of all evil or anything, but they didn't do anything to stop or change the cycle, they just created a slightly happier ending to this one circuit.
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Medical content, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicide, Mental illness, Torture, Kidnapping, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, and Child abuse
Mental health-related triggers are the biggest ones. They use a lot of common horror tropes like: not being able to trust your own thoughts; paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions being real; being constantly watched; the world ending; everyone but you and those close to you being crazy or out to get you; etc. which were upsetting to me, and I don't even have particular mental health reasons that make them triggering to me.jocy_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Bullying and Child abuse
jasmine256's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, and Suicide
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Child death
buecher_und_huehner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Dementia, Murder, Addiction, Animal death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Blood, Bullying, Medical content, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Suicide, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Pedophilia