Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

24 reviews

joy_ong's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence

readwithloz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Violence, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Slavery, Gun violence, and Confinement

chemicalpink's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Confinement, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Infertility, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

antimony's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No

2.75

most of the stars go to this being readable, because despite the fact that it wasn't all that good, i flew through it in under 3 hours. this is not a book that slogs along! it's an easy read, maybe entertaining depending on who you are. the writing style didn't agree with me (there was a lack of commas) but that is thoroughly subjective.

the problems lay elsewhere.

like mattie's amnesia, which i don't know. it felt so convenient and she remembered things so conveniently as well. does that make sense? i wish there were fewer flashbacks. and william had no motive and all the characters were one dimensional. like i wish there was some explanation for why william wanted to

kidnap mattie and kill her mom

? and also the reveal that he was

dealing heroin to make money????????

made so sense and didn't fit thematically. and the monster was so nebulous that it didn't ever feel scary because it just felt fake. like i think some authors can get away with never really describing their monsters because that works for cosmic horror. it does not work here. it's like a bear but like a billion times bigger? and is there one or is there two? and it has paws and its eyes glow. that's it.

and dear god the ending is SO unsatisfying. like COME ON. there's no resolution. i'm not saying we have to see every day of mattie adjusting to normal life again but i mean at least some more resolution than that. i like little epilogue chapters where it's like a month later and the main character explains how everything turned out after they killed the monster and passed out in the hospital or whatever. it's like a cliffhanger without a book 2 to follow up and explain all the rest :/

but then again i read this in two hours which was cause for a 5 star rating when i was 13 so do i even have a right to complain?

EDIT and HOW did i forget to mention.

that every time mattie asks about heather and what happened to her cp or jen or griffin are like ???? who's that????? and it's definitely implied that something was up with heather, like was she ever even real? and then that's NEVER resolved.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Gore, and Gun violence

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Animal death and Vomit

typedtruths's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Pedophilia, Murder, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Animal death, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Blood, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Miscarriage and Death of parent

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

READ CONTENT WARNINGS
This book! It was highly recommended by a YouTuber I watch and you know what? It was really good. It was scary, especially so since I live in a wooded area and I read it at night. I'm glad I didn't read this in winter because then for sure I'd be even more scared. I do have some questions involving Mattie and the creature but the answers, or lack of them really, do not seriously detract from the book as a whole. Super fast paced and kept me interested the whole time.

I wish Griffin and Jen could've made it out of the mountains with CP and Samantha. Griffin was clearly a good dude and had good friends. Wish we could've found out about how they explained their deaths and how Samantha and CP carried on and healed afterwards. Def would've liked to see a Sam-Heather reunion after all those years

I need to read something light/feel good now since this was a pretty heavy book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, Confinement, Drug use, and Grief

soaphest's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

3.75

started very strong, well-paced, but the story lost its steam a bit the further it went on. characters weren’t really given much depth

so even when jen and griffin died i didn’t feel a particular way about it because we really didn’t get to know them that well.

there was some lost potential with the whole creature aspect of this book and the conclusion wasn’t as satisfying as i had hoped for it to be. still, henry has a way of writing which makes you finish her books in just hours. ultimately i love reading her works & this book was no different. overall it was a very compelling read but i just wasn’t particularly wowed by it in the end.

also i was a bit confused how the whole plot point of heather was just dropped out of nowhere? it was made into this huge thing & ultimately nobody knew anything about her and it was never explained why that was, which also made the ending feel a bit rushed and abrupt

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Drug use

cmdiaz004's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.75

This played out like a movie! Heart-pumping, action-packed, scary, thrilling, and even quite humorous in some places! I thoroughly enjoyed this. Trigger warnings: emotional/physical abuse towards a woman. If you can get past that, it’s well worth it, in my opinion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Cursing, Body horror, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, and Death of parent

magikmoonchild's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Violence

howlinglibraries's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Every time I think I can't possibly love Christina Henry even more, she releases another book that blows me away and proves me wrong. Near the Bone is quite possibly my favorite thing I've read from her so far, and I can easily see it landing in my favorite books of the year list. This book was shocking, captivating, and utterly unputdownable — literally, I wasn't even willing to take a break for dinner until I finished it, and ended up inhaling the entire book in one sitting because I was so drawn in that I had to know what would happen next right this moment.

Near the Bone is a tough read at its core, as it follows Mattie, a woman who is trapped in a brutal marriage that is abusive in every possible sense of the word. Christina Henry doesn't shy away from showing the ugly details, but it never feels overly gratuitous, either (and the sexual abuse is off-page, which many readers like myself will undoubtedly appreciate).Mattie is beaten down, but not broken, and her spirit is incredibly brave beneath the veneer of timidity she displays to keep herself safe. I loved Mattie so much and I think that's a big part of why Near the Bone held me captive so well: I needed Mattie to make it, and I couldn't look away until her fate played out.

This is a monster story, sure — there's a fantastic, eerie creature that stalks the residents and animals of the secluded mountain Mattie lives on — but I would caution readers not to go into this story expecting a full-blown creature feature. At its core, Near the Bone strikes me more as a commentary on abuse than anything else: the world abuse survivors live in, the ways that abuse can create a fear and trauma that stalks their daily life, and the reactions on-lookers have, whether it's victim-blaming, or undying love and support.

I have more I want to say, but all of it is spoiler-y, so click the tag at your own risk:

I was fascinated by the monster's refusal to attack Mattie herself, and quickly theorized that perhaps the monster had been seeing the abuse as it happened and was attempting to protect her in its own way. We learned at the end that the monster was simply a parent protecting its young, and with Mattie being barely an adult herself, I still think, just maybe, that the "monster" was Mattie's greatest ally in the end. Even when it took her companions, it seemed to specifically target whoever might be standing between Mattie and her freedom at any given time, and that feels significant to me.

Back to the point, though: truly, I adored every single page of this heart-wrenching, suspenseful read. With a heroine I cheered for every step of the way, a villain I loathed with every fiber of my being, and a beautiful, intense wintry scenery that gave me chills despite the warmth and safety of my home, Christina Henry absolutely blew away every (already high) expectation I had and made Near the Bone a powerful and memorable story that I already can't wait to re-visit.

✨ Representation: a side character is Asian (briefly mentioned)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death and Gun violence