Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

42 reviews

dromedaryreader's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I really loved this book. My favorite of the year so far. The dialogue is great and the story flows very well. Wasn't a fan of the blog post style writing in a few chapters or else it would be 5 stars. Overall so good and I love that the ending is so open to interpretation that most people disagree about who is really the one at fault. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Violence, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Gore, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Murder, and Physical abuse

uhhlexiconic's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.5

Forcing the reader to decide their own truth based on multiple forms of unreliable narration--by a child, through memory, from television and blog posts--A Head Full of Ghosts wears its influences proudly and finds a chilling tale in familiar material.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death of parent, Child death, Excrement, Mental illness, Murder, Vomit, Violence, and Suicide attempt

ashleyalyse's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

Minor: Excrement

ink_at_heart's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

The plot and characters of this book moved (and scared) me like no book has in a long time. I usually steer clear of possession horror—because it either doesn’t scare me at all or it scares me too much—but I decided to read this one because I kept seeing it recommended on TikTok and curiosity got the best of me. I’m glad I read it—but, man, this book wrecked me.

In A Head Full of Ghosts, Tremblay really establishes and reminds the reader of the bond between Merry and Marjorie, which is what really got to me in this book (though I might have an innate weakness to this story since I’m an older sister myself). Sure, Tremblay isn’t shy on the horror end of things either—I had to take a week-long break from reading it after I finished Chapter 11 because it freaked me out so bad—but the relationship between the sisters and the ending were what really broke me and broke my heart.

It’s been about two weeks since I’ve finished this book, but I still think about it—and I have a feeling it’ll be one of those books that always stays with me.

So, long story short, if you’re looking for a possession horror novel that’s both scary as hell and heartbreaking as hell—look no further!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Blood

Moderate: Drug use, Vomit, Emotional abuse, and Excrement

yanareads's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Vomit and Violence

petrolfox's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Excrement, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: Confinement, Bullying, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, and Homophobia

rachaelallyn's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Confinement

paigemignon's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual content, Gore, and Violence

ladysanctuary's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Vomit, Violence, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, and Excrement

camelliasinensis's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Self harm, and Violence

Minor: Blood, Gore, Toxic relationship, and Vomit