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karamelka_kar19's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
There were a lot of happy and crappy moments. First of all, the bad ones.
In the parts when the interview for the upcoming book was conducted, it was hard to keep up with two women speaking, the ages especially. The blog thing? A a waste of space. A little things, but still they're matter.
What angered me most was the amount of POV, but not the possessed one. In this sense it is classic, right? They were witnesses, alright, but the story is not about them at all.This poor girl lived and suffered her parents and everyone else treating her like the way the did so we can hear how sad everyone around her is for her? Let the survivor tell their own story, god dammit.
That's to say, the book itself is aware of the situations, it's really clear it was the intention.
The most solid part was the sister relationship between the two main characters. They deeply cared about each other and it was the most heartbreaking and beautiful thing I've ever seen.
The most solid part was the sister relationship between the two main characters. They deeply cared about each other and it was the most heartbreaking and beautiful thing I've ever seen.
The book doesn't have a full "what happened" line straight, you always kept in a shadow of what's real and what's not. It reminded me of The cabin at the end of the world by the same author though I'm not saying that it's for the same group of people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Torture, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Confinement, Abandonment, and Alcohol
meanaleann's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow that ending hit me like an iron ball straight in my gut. I kinda knew where this story was going but I didn't expect that turn, and how involved little Merry would be in the final debacle. This isn't a spooky possession story. The real horror is the criminal and traumatizing neglect, the ineptitude of parenthood, the warped ideas of tradition and masculinity, how we as a community and society fail the most vulnerable, how local and global greed by capitalists, by (fanatical) church leaders preys on those vulnerable mentally, financially, and emotionally to advance their selfish goals and then leave them on their twisted, irredeemably own. The horror is how no matter how accessible help is, if you don't know how to use and navigate those tools and/or if you don't have anyone to guide you, you will fail yourself and fail those around, sometimes with fatal consequences. There's also the commentary on how can we even enjoy reality tv shows and forget these are real people, real families exposing their lives, their traumas pushed most of the time for the promise of a stable income, but in doing so, they sell their humanity to the will of greedy, heartless producers sometimes, if not most of the time. This book exposes and makes us think, how fair is the tv show/participant dynamic (and it isn't much fair most of the time I believe) and why are we so used to and even comfortable to dismiss everything that happens in these reality tv shows as “just fiction” when most of the time, the script and situations are embellished to an extent but the participants are regular people, not actors bc we choose our entertainment and morbid curiosity and fulfilling one hour judgment pastimes over what's really going on.
This book really hooked me and never let me go. I really enjoyed and ached with Merry as our mc. It gave this book, and the story it wanted to tell, a clear nuanced and realistic tone, and made all the uncomfortable scenarios feel skin deep. The writing was fluid and hard to take your eyes off, I sped through it and couldn't stop bc I needed to know more. I hurt for Marjorie, a really likeable character who totally deserved better. Better parents. Better community. Better. I really loved the sisters relationship, it was so wholesome and full of love that makes everything that happens a deeper, soul crushing tragedy. A truly memorable, hard to put down book.
This book really hooked me and never let me go. I really enjoyed and ached with Merry as our mc. It gave this book, and the story it wanted to tell, a clear nuanced and realistic tone, and made all the uncomfortable scenarios feel skin deep. The writing was fluid and hard to take your eyes off, I sped through it and couldn't stop bc I needed to know more. I hurt for Marjorie, a really likeable character who totally deserved better. Better parents. Better community. Better. I really loved the sisters relationship, it was so wholesome and full of love that makes everything that happens a deeper, soul crushing tragedy. A truly memorable, hard to put down book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
aringofsalt's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder