Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

21 reviews

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Cancer, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Child death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

louisegraveyard's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Animal death, and Mass/school shootings

kimberlyswalters's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful fast-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? Yes

4.75

I did really enjoy this book, but I did feel that it was a tad predictable (which sounds like a lie because this story was off the rails, but some plot twists weren't so twisty). I did love all of the characters and that they cursed and thought things through pretty rationally. For such a wild ride, the characters felt grounded in reality and it made the story much more enjoyable. It was a good read and I'd definitely recommend it to a friend if I had any that read. 

My least favorite thing about this book was that it ended too happily. I don't like when books dangle so much doom and gloom in my face, but then everything turns out pretty okay. I am glad that Fig was okay though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide, Car accident, Cancer, Drug use, Police brutality, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, and Child death

Minor: Fatphobia, Dementia, and Excrement

archaicrobin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.0

I started this novel thinking it was going to be a typical supernatural haunted house tale and quickly found out that was not the case! The Book of Accidents is a horror/sciFi novel that touches on generational trauma, abuse, alternate realities, time travel, and what makes strong families. So way more than I was initially prepared for! 

This novel is not your regular horror story and I loved that. It was weird, twisty, and honestly such a fun read. There were parts that dragged for me and the characters at times behaved really awkwardly (especially Maddie, who seems like the perfect manic pixie dream girl grown up…) which didn’t make this a 5 star for me, hence the 3 stars. I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone either, but to readers that love horror and don’t mind picking up one that crosses so many genres. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

mrdcoolblue's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This starts out as the atmospheric spooky tale you expected, but not all is what it seems. The story quickly turns into a horror thriller fantasy as this family must rely on their love and support of each other as they battle against the looming apocalypse. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Grief, and Mass/school shootings

miniaturephilosopher's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Mass/school shootings, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Torture

pickupthebook's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Mass/school shootings and Sexual assault

cody's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

this had such a strong start, but unfortunately the beginning of the story was its peak and it was a smooth journey downhill from there  :(

The Book of Accidents begins with two hooky prologues proceeded by gripping introductions to its three main characters. I tore through the sample on my Kindle in a day and immediately bought the full book, and for the first 100 or so pages, i was obsessed. It had a gothic family drama vibe, which is exactly my taste, and what seemed to be a slow-burn supernatural mystery element. i was fully prepared to recommend this to fans of the Mike Flanagan shows on Netflix bc that’s precisely what it was giving.

but then things began to fall apart. first i noticed that the writing wasn’t all that great. definitely good, just not at the level i tricked myself into believing it was initially. like just within the first 120 pages, i noticed a bunch of typos, which is nbd but definitely a distraction in the moment. also a lot of the dialogue (mainly among the younger characters) felt dated and corny. and then the reveals started being made too quickly, the pieces of the mystery came together too soon and too predictably, everything became messy and convoluted, and i realized that this book wasn’t nearly as smart or impactful as i thought it was going to be. by the ~350 page mark, pretty much all of the reveals had been made, and it became clear where everything was headed. the story shifted from a character-driven narrative to a heavily plot-focused one. like, despite this being a pretty big book, almost all of the side characters wound up being personified tropes who seemed to exist only to propel the plot or the main characters’ arcs. plus, i was left with several unanswered questions. I’m not sure how it’s possible to write a 500+ page book with underdeveloped characters/relationships AND underdeveloped plot points, but this author managed to do it. 

that said, the first 25-50% of the book was great enough to make the overall reading experience a positive one. it’s just not the 5⭐️ masterpiece i was hoping for :(

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcoholism

mayr3adsab00k's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, and Sexual content

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Confinement, Dementia, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Racism

paigemandia's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence