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kaylawtzl22's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
genuinely so confused. a very good read, intriguing, and hard to put down. It feels like an A24 film as a novel. A24- if you’re reading this, please hit up mona awad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Gore, Addiction, Mental illness, Misogyny, Animal death, Alcohol, Death of parent, Slavery, Violence, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Body horror, Death, Murder, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Classism
bt_wannabe's review
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Mean Girls on a bad acid trip! Now that’s a “fetch” of a good time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Toxic friendship, Death, Blood, Bullying, Ableism, Grief, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Addiction and Sexual content
kijatai's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.5
This was actually the first audio book I ever finished. I started listening to it while on a walk and then I couldn’t get it out of my bed and finished it during the night.
I really liked the narrator, Sophie Amoss. I felt like I was in the head of the main character when she was narrating and I could easily picture all the different characters by the voices she used. Her voice is also soothing.
As for the story itself, I loved it. What I actually enjoyed about it was the psychology of the main character and the depiction of creative block and the depression that can be linked to it. I’m an artist and I could relate to some things she said. How we can feel like an impostor sometimes and feel blocked or not good enough and then craving a connection to others to get out of our self-made isolation but also not wanting to.
I liked how all Sam’s emotions : fear, uncertainty, desires… were represented. Without spoiling anything, I interpreted the rituals depicted (please check content warnings) in the book more as a representation of creativity and desire. And I thought it was really interesting.
It has strong dark academia vibes. Which I’m a sucker for. I like also exploring the mentality and struggles behind cults and this book definitely and intimately explores that. It has mean girl vibes and it was nice to see how the author explores the meaning of sisterhood, girlhood, love and desires.
The relationship between Ava and Sam was what kept me hooked. I hoped for more to be honest but I won’t spoil too much. I guess that their relationship is… complex.
I’m definitely gonna get a physical copy, re-read it and annotate the hell out of it.
I really liked the narrator, Sophie Amoss. I felt like I was in the head of the main character when she was narrating and I could easily picture all the different characters by the voices she used. Her voice is also soothing.
As for the story itself, I loved it. What I actually enjoyed about it was the psychology of the main character and the depiction of creative block and the depression that can be linked to it. I’m an artist and I could relate to some things she said. How we can feel like an impostor sometimes and feel blocked or not good enough and then craving a connection to others to get out of our self-made isolation but also not wanting to.
I liked how all Sam’s emotions : fear, uncertainty, desires… were represented. Without spoiling anything, I interpreted the rituals depicted (please check content warnings) in the book more as a representation of creativity and desire. And I thought it was really interesting.
It has strong dark academia vibes. Which I’m a sucker for. I like also exploring the mentality and struggles behind cults and this book definitely and intimately explores that. It has mean girl vibes and it was nice to see how the author explores the meaning of sisterhood, girlhood, love and desires.
The relationship between Ava and Sam was what kept me hooked. I hoped for more to be honest but I won’t spoil too much. I guess that their relationship is… complex.
I’m definitely gonna get a physical copy, re-read it and annotate the hell out of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Alcohol, Classism, Confinement, Death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Bullying, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
annamgoodman's review
dark
mysterious
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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Animal cruelty, and Classism
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Alcohol, Addiction, Bullying, and Grief
mushroom_frog's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This novel is incredible. It seems to be misunderstood by a lot of its readers (understandable, considering the myriad of loose ends upon the book's conclusion) but is truly an interesting and gripping story, open to interpretation in a way that is not frustrating but rather liberating.
My understanding of the book is as such:Samantha Mackey is an undiagnosed schizophrenic, showing signs from an early age (such as her habit to delve too far into her imagination). Most of the book's seemingly supernatural, eerie or purely confusing elements are the spawn of her internalised and uncontrollable creativity, as she struggles to write and thus release all of these ideas. By the end, she is free from the Bunnies (a cult whose experiences combined not only the women's abnormal methods of 'Tapping the Wound' but also Samantha's hallucinations) and somewhat aware of her mental illness, as she is enlightened of the fact that Ava was a figment of her imagination, likely as was Max. Yet, Samantha has not entirely come to terms with her state, as is seen with the ending lines where she seems to be speaking to Jonah, but is 'answered' by the mud.
I don't usually write such long reviews but this book had me utterly captivated. Not for those who get want everything to be set out clearly from start to finish, and dislike loose ends.
My understanding of the book is as such:
I don't usually write such long reviews but this book had me utterly captivated. Not for those who get want everything to be set out clearly from start to finish, and dislike loose ends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug use, Gore, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Sexual content, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Grief
izypup's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Kidnapping, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, Misogyny, Stalking, Drug use, Cursing, Alcohol, Murder, Blood, Body horror, and Gore
Minor: Animal death, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Classism, Confinement, and Car accident
booklover_04's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
First of all, I wasn’t sure what I was going into when I picked up this book. Not my cup of tea in terms of the genre, but I wanted to give it a fair shot so I read until the end. I found that the writing style was very immature. To me, it sounded like something I would’ve read in high school. But the content was disturbing. I didnt feel like the end was satisfying, though it felt like it was supposed to be a closed ending with the scene where Max attacks the Bunnies. It didn’t feel like there was a smooth transition (or any transition for that matter) between Samantha coming out of the trance-like state and going back to Ava. It felt rushed but drawn out at the same time. I think the length of the book was enough to do a better job of building up the characters and the plot. I wouldn’t recommend it personally, even putting aside my distaste for the plot, due to the writing style.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Sexual content, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racial slurs, and Torture
marielcariker's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-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
I wasn’t sure about this one at the start but I was into it by the end. I appreciate any book that is committed to being as bonkers bananas as it possibly can be. I think this book commits all the writing crimes it accuses its characters of but it stopped mattering to me by the end. There are some really amazing descriptions but every time she used the “like so many” simile trope it took me out… she wrote it so many times
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Gore, Death of parent, and Alcoholism
samflowerv6's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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
“We never joke about bunnies, Bunny.”
I WORSHIP YOU MONA AWAD!! Any freaks who like this book (myself included) are my favorite.
“Can I take your coat?” Cupcake offers. I turn to her. She’s looking at me so hopefully. So willing to take a coat I’m not wearing, I almost want to give her my skin.”
“What do you think, Samantha?” Fosco asks me. That it’s a piece of pretentious shit. That it says nothing, gives nothing. That I don’t understand it, that probably no one does and no one ever will. That not being understood is a privilege I can’t afford. That I can’t believe this woman got paid to come here. That I think she should apologize to trees. Spend a whole day on her knees in the forest, looking up at the trembling aspens and oaks and whatever other trees paper is made of with tears in her languid eyes and say, I’m fucking sorry. I’m sorry that I think I’m so goddamned interesting when it is clear that I am not interesting. Here’s what I am: I’m a boring tree murderess. But I look at Vignette, at Creepy Doll, at Cupcake, the Duchess. All of them staring at me now with shy smiles. “I think I’d like to see more of the soup too,” I hear myself say.”
“I look at all of my dreams and nightmares distilled into one man-shaped shape. All the love and hate I have in my heart plus one fucking bunny.”
“Behold the lavish tent under which the overeducated mingle, well versed in every art but the one of conversation.”
“They laugh. What’s so fucking funny? I want to say. But I don’t. I laugh with them. Ha. Haha. Hahaha.”
How empty and emptied I felt walking away with all my words still on his floor. Wanting so badly to pick them back up. Take it all back. Wipe away the night, my dumb tears, my endless tumbling out of words. I never meant to give this to you.
“Their cheeks are plump and pink and shining like they’ve been eating too much sugar, but actually it’s Gossip Glow, the flushed look that comes from throwing another woman under the bus.”
“We've read Jane Eyre too, you cunt, and we've read The Waves, and when we read it, you know, we wept for minutes."
“Whenever I read one of Victoria’s vignettes, I always feel so dumb because I can hardly understand them at all. And then I blame myself. I think, Kira, this must be just too brilliant for you to grasp. Surely you must have missed something. Even though there’s always been this small voice inside of me that says, Um, what the fuck is this, please? This makes no sense. This is coy and this is willfully obscure and no one but Victoria will ever get this. I would in fact need to live inside Victoria’s spoiled, fragmented, lazy, pretentious little mind to get it. And who apart from us, apart from me, is going to be willing to do that? To work all night with a Victoria Decoder? Who would even care to? And then I feel like screaming JUST SAY IT. TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED. TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK THIS MEANS AND WHAT YOU DID WITH HIM EXACTLY.”
“Read. Be a guest in other worlds.”
I WORSHIP YOU MONA AWAD!! Any freaks who like this book (myself included) are my favorite.
“Can I take your coat?” Cupcake offers. I turn to her. She’s looking at me so hopefully. So willing to take a coat I’m not wearing, I almost want to give her my skin.”
“What do you think, Samantha?” Fosco asks me. That it’s a piece of pretentious shit. That it says nothing, gives nothing. That I don’t understand it, that probably no one does and no one ever will. That not being understood is a privilege I can’t afford. That I can’t believe this woman got paid to come here. That I think she should apologize to trees. Spend a whole day on her knees in the forest, looking up at the trembling aspens and oaks and whatever other trees paper is made of with tears in her languid eyes and say, I’m fucking sorry. I’m sorry that I think I’m so goddamned interesting when it is clear that I am not interesting. Here’s what I am: I’m a boring tree murderess. But I look at Vignette, at Creepy Doll, at Cupcake, the Duchess. All of them staring at me now with shy smiles. “I think I’d like to see more of the soup too,” I hear myself say.”
“I look at all of my dreams and nightmares distilled into one man-shaped shape. All the love and hate I have in my heart plus one fucking bunny.”
“Behold the lavish tent under which the overeducated mingle, well versed in every art but the one of conversation.”
“They laugh. What’s so fucking funny? I want to say. But I don’t. I laugh with them. Ha. Haha. Hahaha.”
How empty and emptied I felt walking away with all my words still on his floor. Wanting so badly to pick them back up. Take it all back. Wipe away the night, my dumb tears, my endless tumbling out of words. I never meant to give this to you.
“Their cheeks are plump and pink and shining like they’ve been eating too much sugar, but actually it’s Gossip Glow, the flushed look that comes from throwing another woman under the bus.”
“We've read Jane Eyre too, you cunt, and we've read The Waves, and when we read it, you know, we wept for minutes."
“Whenever I read one of Victoria’s vignettes, I always feel so dumb because I can hardly understand them at all. And then I blame myself. I think, Kira, this must be just too brilliant for you to grasp. Surely you must have missed something. Even though there’s always been this small voice inside of me that says, Um, what the fuck is this, please? This makes no sense. This is coy and this is willfully obscure and no one but Victoria will ever get this. I would in fact need to live inside Victoria’s spoiled, fragmented, lazy, pretentious little mind to get it. And who apart from us, apart from me, is going to be willing to do that? To work all night with a Victoria Decoder? Who would even care to? And then I feel like screaming JUST SAY IT. TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED. TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK THIS MEANS AND WHAT YOU DID WITH HIM EXACTLY.”
“Read. Be a guest in other worlds.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Gore, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Grief, Physical abuse, Classism, Violence, Body shaming, and Cursing
rosemaryandrue's review
dark
funny
mysterious
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
4.0
No matter how Samantha loathes the cliche of girls who make up the rest of her writing group, with their overwrought work and their insistence on referring to each other as 'Bunny,' she can't help but get sucked into their strange world when they invite her to join them.
This is a dark and satirical read which pokes plenty of fun at the pretentious streak that can run deep in the people who attend MFA programs - considering the author was one of them, the mockery is more authentic and amusing. But it's also an off-kilter exploration of intense loneliness and imagination which themes I found fascinating.
I didn't always like Samantha, but the space to disagree with her makes the book more enjoyable. I enjoyed the fantastical elements of the story and various twists and turns that burst out at me, all perfectly unpredictable. The writing is vivid and easy to follow even when things turn psychedelic, which is not always easy to do.
However, the book is definitely structured in distinct acts, and I thought that they did not always blend together as they ought. The various parts of the story - the Bunnies, Samantha's relationship with Ava, and Samantha's acute writer's block - coexist and sometimes overlap, but don't successfully gel together, which in the end lowered my overall enjoyment of the book.
This is a dark and satirical read which pokes plenty of fun at the pretentious streak that can run deep in the people who attend MFA programs - considering the author was one of them, the mockery is more authentic and amusing. But it's also an off-kilter exploration of intense loneliness and imagination which themes I found fascinating.
I didn't always like Samantha, but the space to disagree with her makes the book more enjoyable. I enjoyed the fantastical elements of the story and various twists and turns that burst out at me, all perfectly unpredictable. The writing is vivid and easy to follow even when things turn psychedelic, which is not always easy to do.
However, the book is definitely structured in distinct acts, and I thought that they did not always blend together as they ought. The various parts of the story - the Bunnies, Samantha's relationship with Ava, and Samantha's acute writer's block - coexist and sometimes overlap, but don't successfully gel together, which in the end lowered my overall enjoyment of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Body horror
Moderate: Bullying, Grief, and Drug abuse