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jidcreates's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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? Yes
3.75
aelela's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
bookph1le's review against another edition
4.0
I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I started out thinking it was a mystery/thriller, and though those elements are there, I would classify this more as horror. I'm not typically a horror reader, so when I could see the book heading in that direction I wasn't sure if I wanted to stick with it. I'm glad I did.
What worked most for me was the main character. He's awful. He's frank about being a liar, and he's a fraud in pretty much every sense. So I loved that the author made him so compelling to me. I loved that I needed to know what had happened to him, what his story was, even though I did not like him. Give me all the unlikable, unreliable characters--as long as you make them compelling.
Creepy and lightly supernatural, this book kept me turning pages.
What worked most for me was the main character. He's awful. He's frank about being a liar, and he's a fraud in pretty much every sense. So I loved that the author made him so compelling to me. I loved that I needed to know what had happened to him, what his story was, even though I did not like him. Give me all the unlikable, unreliable characters--as long as you make them compelling.
Creepy and lightly supernatural, this book kept me turning pages.
renlau13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Easy, enjoyable read but not mindblowing. Quirky 'not-like-the-other-girls' love interest who wears rock band T-shirts and has piercings but ultimately felt useless as there was no real focus on the relationship development. Every conversation is an overly witty back and forth.
The plot is essentially justa dumbed-down Pet Sematary.
The plot is essentially just
bernie13's review against another edition
mysterious
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? Yes
3.5
I love c.j.Tudor and I’ve read all her other books but this one just didn’t hit the same for me. I liked the mystery of “the pit” and I actually really enjoyed the autism representation. It’s not something that is usually in a book like this. It just didn’t have me gripped the way her other stories have.
ellie_pan's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
The main character was a dislikable alcoholic gambler. He is a shitty teacher but EVERYONE told him what an impact he had on his students
There was just too much in this book. Midway trough I realised that that was just a copy of Stephen Kings "Pet Semetary" [b:Pet Sematary|33124137|Pet Sematary|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480069533l/33124137._SY75_.jpg|150017]
Just read the OG work and be done with it
The main character was a dislikable alcoholic gambler. He is a shitty teacher but EVERYONE told him what an impact he had on his students
There was just too much in this book. Midway trough I realised that that was just a copy of Stephen Kings "Pet Semetary" [b:Pet Sematary|33124137|Pet Sematary|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480069533l/33124137._SY75_.jpg|150017]
Just read the OG work and be done with it
mxmaxreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
hollietoftx's review against another edition
5.0
This had me hooked from the beginning. I really love the way Tudor creates friendship dynamics and connections, they just feel so real.
luminous's review against another edition
DNF. I don't normally review my DNFs but as I got to 68% on this one I think I'll allow it. Obvs so disappointed. I adored The Burning Girls, then I liked The Chalk Man, and then...this mistake. Two thirds through it and it still doesn't know what story it wants to tell. Is it about children who disappear and come back wrong? Is it about addiction and attempted recovery? Is it about bullying, trauma, and becoming the bully? Is it about a supposedly creepy deserted mine that somehow manages to not be creepy or scary in the slightest? Is it about over the top townies who circle the wagons when a prodigal son returns? Is it about a violent, vengeful gambling debt collector/enforcer who may be a figment of the MC's imagination because he seems to picture her as some Dom woman he's DTF?
I don't care about Joe's damage or his childhood or even his poor sister. Not even the cottage he rents, in which a woman murdered her son and then died by suicide, manages to successfully convey a creepiness factor - even with constant sounds of scuttling beetles that may or may not be real!
Look, I get it. Banal evil is still evil. The evil of playground politics and adults who aren't there for you and shit like that, and the lingering trauma into adulthood, yeah go ahead make that part of your evil. But it doesn't work here. It's all rendered so dully. And I am one hundred percent certain that the supernatural evil, which I know is coming, isn't going to be any better. One star.
I don't care about Joe's damage or his childhood or even his poor sister. Not even the cottage he rents, in which a woman murdered her son and then died by suicide, manages to successfully convey a creepiness factor - even with constant sounds of scuttling beetles that may or may not be real!
Look, I get it. Banal evil is still evil. The evil of playground politics and adults who aren't there for you and shit like that, and the lingering trauma into adulthood, yeah go ahead make that part of your evil. But it doesn't work here. It's all rendered so dully. And I am one hundred percent certain that the supernatural evil, which I know is coming, isn't going to be any better. One star.