Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

77 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

2.75

I enjoyed this book enough, but it was too superficial. It would’ve been better if it had leaned into the grandmother’s backstory instead of explaining her personality in a couple of sentences. It would’ve given the book more depth and rationale as to her internal motives. Instead, the focus was on the mother, who was a plot device at best. Also, the conflict and denouement were anticlimactic in comparison to the buildup to the story climax. Felt like a good first effort, except the author is prolific and has been published since 2009.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

rorikae's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

'A House With Good Bones' by T. Kingfisher is a creepy horror about familial expectations. 
When Sam comes to stay with her mother in her grandmother's old house, she senses something is off. Her mother is a kind woman but suddenly she is starting to mimic Sam's grandmother, an overbearing woman with high expectations for her family. As more and more strange things start to happen around the house, Sam suspects that something more is going on. 
Kingfisher does a great job of creating a creeping sense of unease that slowly permeates the story. We quickly come to understand Sam as a person as well as her mother and her grandmother. It's clear that their relationship with the grandmother was fraught and that same energy is returning to the house. The unease continues to increase throughout the book until we reach some more startlingly revelations. Ultimately, I think Kingfisher does a great job of exploring familial expectations and trauma through a horror lens but without getting too gory. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Fatphobia

Moderate: Body horror and Racism

Minor: Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

yappuccino's review

challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

A fun, creepy read 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Blood

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Bugs, teeth

peachmoni's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

bronbaewr's review against another edition

dark funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Genuinely fantastic book, can't recommend it enough. As someone with an awesome mom and a shitty grandmother, the plot rlly hit home. It did unfortunately (via a throwaway line) introduce to me the existence of eyebrow mites, but that's my one and only gripe (my life was better before I knew.)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Self harm, and Death of parent

Minor: Racism and Dementia

whatkatyread87's review

dark emotional funny informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

kylieqrada's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious medium-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? No

4.0

Yup yup yup her writing works for me. Also I related to this too much and I loved reading from my first fat horror protagonist. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Blood

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, and Racism

Minor: Dementia, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

otterforce's review

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

It’s a solid read with an interesting cast and an ending that while mostly telegraphed is worth sticking around for.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cannibalism and Murder

cranshrooms's review

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I love T Kingfisher's books! I have to admit, this one went a very different direction than I expected, and it contained a few more mystical elements than I expected in a souther Gothic. That being said, it was a delight and an easy read. As I said to a friend, it was almost like listening to a Tumblr mutual tell a story. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Death, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

asmei's review

mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Blood, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Dementia, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Cannibalism