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wandering_not_lost's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I'm not much of a horror reader anymore, but this book did a good job of hooking me in. The book starts out quite slowly, with the protagonist going home, settling in, seeing things wrong, and then very eventually it starts ramping into seeing Creepy Stuff happening. It's a slow build, and several points I thought it was too slow. The protagonist's POV doesn't really help, since she is funny and wry but totally unaware that she is in a Gothic horror novel, if you know what I mean. We spend a lot of time listening to her internal monologue about the possible reasonable reasons that Creepy Things might be happening, when in reality you know right from the start that none of those things are true, and it almost comes across as...wasting the reader's time? But, I continued on on the strength of the characters and wasn't disappointed. Once stuff hit the fan in the last quarter, it was unputdownable and honestly quite emotional.
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
witcheep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Kingfisher is great with writing multidimensional characters with flaws of their own and their interpersonal relationships. That is what shines bright in this book as well. I enjoyed reading about the difficult relationships between the different generations of the same family, and their own ways to deal with mysteries and difficulties. The neighbors offer a good place to compare with the main character's life. A House with Good Bones ponders over some hard themes, such as loss of a family member and grief, doubting one's self-worth and emotionally abusive family relationships. The book, however, offers more hopeful outlooks on the same issues in the form of caring for one's community, forming new friendships and finding new insight into oneself.
The horror elements get increasiongly more creepy, from a slight feeling of something being off up to creeping uneasiness,
"You're a scientist," said Gail, watching me. "I realize that makes this hard for you. I'm telling you, what's happening isn't something you're going to be able to put under a microscope. I'm hoping it'll go away on it's own."
"Does anything ever go away on it's own?" I asked.
"More often than you think. In this case I truly can't be sure. I don't know everything.
"I'm starting to be sure I don't know anything", I muttered.
She smiles. "That's a good place to start."
Moderate: Death, Grief, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Body horror, and Body shaming
Minor: Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting
ezwolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Dementia, Grief, and Animal cruelty
cadence99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Violence, and Gore
Minor: Dementia, Alcohol, and Child abuse
wellreadandhalfdead's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, and Body shaming
Moderate: Racism
marsh_mall0w's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Death, and Fatphobia
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, and Stalking
jaedia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Fatphobia
dokushoka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Moderate: Blood, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Gore, and Cannibalism
brewingespresso's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Bullying, and Blood
blacksphinx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Gaslighting, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Cannibalism, and Fatphobia
Minor: Death of parent, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, and Terminal illness