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withsquared's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Vomit, Murder, Body shaming, Child death, Body horror, Torture, Death, Violence, Gore, Terminal illness, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Bullying, Blood, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Confinement, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Misogyny and Homophobia
rebekahmccubbins's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Bullying, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, War, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Misogyny, Cursing, Fatphobia, Sexism, Suicide, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Animal cruelty
chicaso's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Animal death, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Gore, Medical content, Body horror, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Violence, Confinement, Death, and Excrement
r_o_s_e's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Gore, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Violence, Body horror, and Child death
Moderate: Body shaming, Self harm, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Bullying, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, and Medical content
Minor: Cursing
smolhandsdan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Graphic: Fatphobia, Death, Gore, Animal death, Child death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Child abuse, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Self harm, Violence, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Torture
felyn's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
There's no on-page villain per se. There's a scientist who's not on page. One of the characters is a young serial-killer-in-training but he's not the antagonist. (He's *an* antagonist, sure, but not *the* antagonist.)
But you can't villainize an insentient parasite.
So you're reading this book about a group of 14-year-old boys from PEI, stranded on a small island for what's supposed to be an ordinary Scouting trip, and the only adult with them is quickly neutralised... and it's horrifying in part because of the descriptions of what the infected characters think and do, but also watch as the entire cast loses their grasp on reality. Wondering who's going to die next and how, because it's not just one thing that can kill you, it's exposure, it's starvation or dehydration, it's the parasite, it's the other humans, it's getting injured, it's falling off a cliff... And you as the reader is still there watching all this, wondering who is going to die next and who, if anyone, survives.
You get snippets of what the people on the mainland (er, back on the main island? back on PEI.) are doing and going through, but they are footnotes against the body of the main story.
Plus there's a lot of gross descriptive text in general that I am just not here for, but I'm sure others wouldn't have any issues with. You'd think that having aphantasia, this wouldn't bother me so much BUT NO.
Anyway, I'm going to go binge some sex pollen alien erotica now as a palate cleanser. Then I'll probably go read The Handyman Method, because I'm a masochist.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Animal death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Self harm
rat_leoo'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Self harm, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit
spooky_taylor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Blood, Gaslighting, Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic friendship, and Self harm
Moderate: Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Vomit, and Suicide
Minor: Police brutality and Body shaming
whaabzreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I have read a lot of horror in my time but this was the first time I had to skip pages in a book because it was too much for me.
Heed the content warnings.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Body horror, Vomit, Blood, Mental illness, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Bullying
atalea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Eating disorder, Violence, Child death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, and Body horror
Moderate: Confinement, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Bullying, Fatphobia, Excrement, Gaslighting, Torture, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit