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hexedmaiden's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.75
This has to be one of my favorite retellings of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
At the start I was worried especially when we're getting the story from an original character instead of a character from the original text, but I should know to trust Christina. Because I just loved our main character, Ben. I really loved that this character was queer on page and I personally saw him being ace too, but that's me. I also found the ending so much more satisfying than what I thought was going to happen.
Anway, I love the way Christina Henry takes on these stories and does something truly original and unique with them.
At the start I was worried especially when we're getting the story from an original character instead of a character from the original text, but I should know to trust Christina. Because I just loved our main character, Ben. I really loved that this character was queer on page and I personally saw him being ace too, but that's me. I also found the ending so much more satisfying than what I thought was going to happen.
Anway, I love the way Christina Henry takes on these stories and does something truly original and unique with them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Deadnaming, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
sonygaystation's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The main character gas unbearable self loathing and toxic attitudes towards being alone and expressing emotion omg someone get this child some genuine attention stat. Idea was promising but it bored me and the characterization was all over the place, especially for gramps. Also the time skip section was truly so painfully uninteresting that when I fell asleep as my book ended and I didn’t hear the last 30 min - an hour of it I didn’t replay it before just returning it to the library and calling it a wash
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Transphobia, Death, Blood, Grief, Child death, Animal death, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Sexual violence
Minor: Dementia, Terminal illness, Bullying, Kidnapping, and Rape
sorrel29's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Murder
Minor: Rape
the_cat_of_mishief's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Sexism, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Racial slurs and Blood
Minor: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts
bearbookshelf's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
While perhaps intended as a spooky autumnal read in agreement with Washington Irvine's original tale, this book was the perfect start to the new year both in its thematic range and the excitement it generates to push forward through the pages, goading the reader to race ahead of the chill crawling down their spine. Set decades after the chasing off of Ichabod Crane by Brom Bones' invented tale of the headless horseman, the tale is executed through the gaze of 14 year-old canonically trans character Ben. Ben is the son of Brom's son Benedix, who was mysteriously slain and left mutilated in the woods of Sleepy Hollow when Ben was just a baby. When a boy Ben's age is discovered in the woods mutilated just as his father, rumours begin to broil around the superstitious town of Sleepy Hollow, mixing the murder with mention of the Headless Horseman. In pursuit of the truth, Ben seeks to peel back the layers of superstition only to uncover the supernatural, and unknowingly sets himself on a quest of self-definition and discovery.
A trans reading by a trans reader:
The reviews of this book seem by and large to gloss over the queer representation. However, to me, this seems an essential component of the text and potential greater meanings. Featuring a canonically trans main-character, the book's main themes of lineage and inheritance, nature versus nurture, conscious self-creation, and the true meaning of love as rooted in not only tolerance but acceptance, take on a greater purpose and message most fully incapsulated in the thrilling conclusion that sees the ultimate rejection and defeat of long standing oppression and a symbol of the accepted unsavoury ways of the world. However, this progression can be tracked throughout in both the invention of the Horseman- a focal point of Ben's self-creation and self image- and the movement of Sleepy Hollow itself. It seems to me that so much more interest lies in this books pages beyond the continuation of a spooky tale or the goose-flesh and knotted stomach we feel as we read it. The nightmare of Sleepy Hollow takes on the qualities and movements of the search for self-definition that Ben's trans identity draws poignant attention to; more specifically, the monstrous nature often assigned to trans characters and foisted upon trans individuals themselves is taken on and shirked off simultaneously as the monster becomes the man and the man becomes the hero of his own story.
A trans reading by a trans reader:
The reviews of this book seem by and large to gloss over the queer representation. However, to me, this seems an essential component of the text and potential greater meanings. Featuring a canonically trans main-character, the book's main themes of lineage and inheritance, nature versus nurture, conscious self-creation, and the true meaning of love as rooted in not only tolerance but acceptance, take on a greater purpose and message most fully incapsulated in the thrilling conclusion that sees the ultimate rejection and defeat of long standing oppression and a symbol of the accepted unsavoury ways of the world. However, this progression can be tracked throughout in both the invention of the Horseman- a focal point of Ben's self-creation and self image- and the movement of Sleepy Hollow itself. It seems to me that so much more interest lies in this books pages beyond the continuation of a spooky tale or the goose-flesh and knotted stomach we feel as we read it. The nightmare of Sleepy Hollow takes on the qualities and movements of the search for self-definition that Ben's trans identity draws poignant attention to; more specifically, the monstrous nature often assigned to trans characters and foisted upon trans individuals themselves is taken on and shirked off simultaneously as the monster becomes the man and the man becomes the hero of his own story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Transphobia
Moderate: Pedophilia, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
Minor: Rape and Cursing
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