Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker

7 reviews

ireadinbed's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

This was a greag book! I will be thinking about it for years to come i can tell. And it had exactly the right kind of ending for a horror book imo. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Child death, and Animal cruelty

darumachan's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Bullying

Moderate: Grief, Violence, Ableism, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Terminal illness, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Blood and Kidnapping

sunnydale's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

Despite the title, I wasn't actually expecting it to be scary, but I was pretty unsettled! The real-world threats that fox kits encounter became almost supernatural from their perspective. Tension was maintained, but adult horror themes were avoided. The illustrations really add to the atmosphere. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Animal death: The first chapter is the worst it gets—not in the sense of "that's it," but the first chapter lets you know what the story is capable of.

Three fox kits and an adult fox succumb to rabies. Later in the book, another kit dies, and an adult fox dies as well.

Animal injury: A lot of them, and they're described in detail.

booksnbones13's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

 

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW: "Scary Stories for Young Foxes" is an exploration of the wild, natural world through the eyes of some adventurous fox kits. The premise follows a litter of baby foxes who seek out a spooky storyteller living deep in the woods. As the storyteller regales them with a series of scary stories, the kits test their bravery. With rich imagery weaving multiple narratives together, Heidicker creates an adventure full of dark whimsy, life lessons, and poignant explorations of love, loss, and grief. Although the book contains discussions of difficult themes, they are presented and written in a way that is palatable both to the intended middle-grade audience and to older readers. Exploring mature themes (death, abuse, sacrifice, disability, etc.) through the eyes of the animal world presents a unique perspective that I think makes a great introduction to these topics for this age group. Middle grade can be tricky to define in literature, as it is meant to appeal to kids/preteens who may not be ready for YA themes but have outgrown childish books. I think that by addressing these topics while maintaining a level of separation and whimsy with the animal perspective, Heidicker executed the blend of horror, hope, and overarching lessons very well. His writing style and use of rich, descriptive imagery makes the book even more enjoyable. I loved that the horror elements were less outright jump scares or gore but instead centered on the buildup and character's reactions/feelings. To me, the world of the foxes is reminiscent of the tv show "Over the Garden Wall" — spooky atmosphere, shrouded mysteries that slowly unravel, characters that are not always as they seem, disguised dangers, and blurred lines between magic and reality. There are also small threads that gradually connected the individual scary tales and wove a rich, cohesive narrative together throughout the book. All in all, this book has beautiful writing, characters you root for and want to succeed, and lovely sentiments hidden amidst the horror. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

biacedbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.5

I liked this book, but honestly it was pretty messed up. 10 year old me would have loved it however, as i wanted to read as many scary books as I could 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Blood

Moderate: Domestic abuse

mheste's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Murder

Moderate: Cannibalism and Domestic abuse

Minor: Rape

heybmorefish's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Most of this book was a perfectly fine read about a bunch of mis-fortunate foxes, with a great end. Parts of this book read like animal torture porn and that was really super unexpected, especially since this book is marketed in the children's category. I wanted to give it 3 stars but the ending bumped it up a little for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty