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nickoliver's review
- 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
5.0
What made it such a page-turner for me was how atmospheric it was. The sheer idea alone of being stuck on a mountain with your very abusive husband was horrifying. Add to that the terror of knowing there was a monster out there that you couldn’t identify - and your husband’s insistence that it was his mission to kill it, therefore deliberately seeking it out and forcing you to do the same -, and you’ve got yourself a nightmare setting and scenario.
What was the bigger threat and monster in Mattie’s life? This big, scary creature out in the woods who kept brutally killing animals? Or the man in her house who beat and raped her daily and kept her chronically malnourished and weak? I loved the way Henry played with that thought, because it made you question who you should fear more. In any other book, the answer would always clearly be the unknown, supernatural creature, but here, that wasn’t really the case. The snowy, cold season exacerbated Mattie's situation even more and turned the atmosphere even more nightmarish.
Admittedly, the domestic violence was a lot. It wasn’t completely graphic, thankfully; especially the rape scenes were off-page, and a lot of the beatings were also only talked about before or afterwards. But William was extremely misogynistic and abusive - a religious nut job who picked and chose what he decided was a sin and what wasn’t.
I loved that the story subverted my expectations a little. Once the three strangers appeared, I assumed there would be a tentative step to romance, just based on the way Griffin was talking and Henry wrote about him. So the way the plot progressed instead was brutal and shocking to me, but also kind of a nice surprise? It’s not like a romance would’ve fit well into the book, anyways.
I liked Mattie as a protagonist. Her trauma was portrayed very well and real. While I did think the way her memories came back was a bit too convenient at times, Henry focused a lot on the reasons behind how she managed to forget about things in the first place, and it was just very authentic. I also never got properly angry at the way she acted, because it made sense that she wouldn’t fight back in the way some readers would.
I also liked the three strangers a lot. They were developed quite nicely, and even though C.P. was sometimes thick in the head and dismissed Mattie’s very real and obvious trauma, some of his actions did make sense in retrospect. And he seemed pretty versatile - my feelings about him changed a lot, he was never static or all too predictable, which made sense in the stressful situations they were all in. The only gripe I had was the fact that he reacted to a quite gory scene very nonchalantly afterwards. It was a nightmare in the moment, but he got over it way too quickly. That didn’t feel very realistic.
Like I said, I read this pretty quickly and didn’t want to stop. It was very suspenseful! Especially the unexpected plot points - like
Speaking of ending, I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about that. It was a bit too abrupt, and personally, I would’ve liked to see a bit further into Mattie’s future.
Overall, this was an atmospheric, suspenseful horror book that asks the question what’s scarier - monster or man?
Graphic: Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Rape, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Animal death and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage
joy_ong'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence
nrogers_1030's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Gore, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death, Religious bigotry, Violence, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Miscarriage and Confinement
Minor: Infertility, Pedophilia, Torture, Cursing, and Rape
Rapes are not detailed.lasamviela's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Murder, and Vomit
Minor: Animal cruelty, Blood, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Violence, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy
remuslibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Rape, Miscarriage, Animal death, and Pedophilia
annamorgan27'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
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
namielle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Near the Bone was successful in filling me with absolute dread, but some of the characters were not fleshed out as well as they could have been.
I think that I spent the whole book being as scared of William as Mattie was. The monster, whatever it was, was also somewhat frightening, but it was nothing compared to William. I was just rooting for him to die the entire time.
The college kids felt very flat compared to William and Mattie. None of them had much of a personality, and they kind of felt like they were ripped from a subpar horror movie. I just couldn’t really get myself to care about them outside of whether they would be able to help Mattie escape.
Graphic: Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Rape and Animal death
jadziad97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Misogyny
aus10england's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Kidnapping, Gore, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Rape and Animal death
oopsadaisy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Rape, Animal death, Murder, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Miscarriage