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shiftycow1313's review against another edition
Graphic: Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Racism, Classism, Cursing, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Murder, Torture, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse
leahrosereads's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Not because this story wasn't told to fruition, because it was, and spectacularly so, but because I'm absolutely unhingedly intrigued by the bits of supernatural we saw.
Graphic: Death, Blood, Racism, Grief, Drug use, Child death, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Body horror, Racial slurs, Child abuse, and Confinement
Minor: Transphobia
ferns80's review against another edition
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Drug abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Violence
victoriarose12'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Violence and Gun violence
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
ouijabroad's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I knew going in that the characters weren’t likable and I’m fine with that. The thing is I didn’t care about them, the story they were telling or what happened to them. The beginning was sad and I had empathy for Mario’s financial struggles and how healthcare is a sick joke, but that’s about all I felt the entire book.
The messed up and sometimes (weirdly and randomly) even supernatural things that happened had no explanation and the violence was purely there to shock the reader.
The author cannot write women, he is as bad as Stephen king. Any woman is just there to further plot and they're either reduced to their looks and bodies or viewed as a mother figure (or both like Stephanie!). Also really loves telling us about fat folks because that totally adds to the story. And all the fat folks were objectively bad people.
I didn’t dig his writing style; This author really likes to use similes at a distracting rate.
Now, the “action” during the climax: it was such a dud. All this lead up and exposition with so many unexplained happenings, violence and then it’s just over. I can’t believe I spent so long trying to get through this one. I wish I had put this in the DNF pile.
Graphic: Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Addiction, Cancer, Cannibalism, Classism, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
shawnthulhu's review against another edition
Graphic: Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Emotional abuse, Classism, Death, Body horror, and Addiction
nithya_natalya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
One note: there is a good amount of Spanish mixed into the novel, although it is mostly written in English. I would recommend not trying to translate those sections if you don’t understand them. Writing parts of conversations in Spanish was an artistic choice. Imo, non Spanish speakers are not meant to know what’s being said. That’s part of the experience of it. Spanish speakers will catch everything and non-Spanish speaker will miss things, feel lost, or not fully understand. And to me, that is part of the point of the artistic choice that was made. If not understanding what’s going on makes you feel uncomfortable, sit with that!
Graphic: Gun violence, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Torture, Child abuse, Body horror, Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Cannibalism
wyabook234's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Grief, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Domestic abuse and Child abuse
jaimee_reads's review against another edition
Graphic: Death, Child death, Body horror, Child abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Violence, and Gore
bookmark3brodi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Death, Gore, Pregnancy, War, Murder, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Violence, Addiction, and Chronic illness