Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda

24 reviews

chainsawheartbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

"My therapist says when you talk out loud without stopping for a long time, and you really listen to yourself, the mysteries end up coming out of the tangle of your subconscious."

If Ojeda doesn’t become a big name in literary horror, alongside the likes of Jackson, Shelley and Poe, then no one should. 

Given how literary this book is, it took me a while to get through it, but that doesn’t mean this book isn’t horrifyingly beautiful and macabre.

Each character read so differently from one another, I loved diving into each character’s subconscious, seeing where their biases came in.

I’ve always found tales about cosmic horror and the occult fascinating, especially when consumed together; the aspect of putting an ethereal being into our reality in a way that doesn’t feel forced can be so difficult to do, but in my opinion Odeja handles this perfectly! 

Above all else, this tale is about friendship, puberty, motherhood, and the perception of an ideal self.

If you want a slower read that still leaves you a deep sense of horror, a feeling of seeing things in the light and hearing the fluttering of lashes in the dark, then you should put this to the top of your list!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

amessina3399's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

It took me a minute to get into this book, but once I did, I couldn’t get out of it. The language of this book is as much a part of it as the story. The way the characters are each narrated is incredibly unique to anything’s I’ve ever read, and one could argue the poetic nature of the narrative voice as well. A highly metaphorical book about adolescence and the relationship between mothers and daughters, this book is a very heady read and incredibly weird, but absolutely worth it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol

lus's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

What if you were a teenage girl, raised catholic and in private schools? What if you loved your best friend very much but didn't have the words to say it? What if instead of 'love' you used words like 'twin'? What if your best friend fashioned herself a prophetess for a God she built out of creepypastas and Lovecraftian horror? What if your teacher hated you and your kind and what if your best friend betrays you, somehow? What if the worst thing in the world is to be a mother? What if it is to be a daughter? To be a teacher is to be a mother is to be a daughter and to be all of these is to have jaws strong enough to cannibalize homes and mothers and daughters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Murder

savshelfinger's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

This book is good for an in-depth character study on adolescence, but I felt like I just kept waiting for something to happen that never materialized. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying and Child death

juffnstuff's review

challenging dark medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Blood, and Kidnapping

terriblelynne's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

rylee_the_captain_krane's review

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcohol

janae's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Hmmmm as a horror newbie it's hard for me to know how to judge. For writing I give it 5 stars, and a solid 4 stars for story. For the horror element it was definitely unsettling.

A lot of talk about teenage sexuality and genitals, very unsettling and uncomfortable

So for horror I would give it a 3-4, I def had the heebeejeebies. 

Overall, I recommend this to any woman/woman aligned or perceived person who has been in a toxic ass friendship with another woman, especially as a teenager. That shit was a little too relatable! Also all the horror around the mother-daughter relationship made me want to nevvver have a kid.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Bullying and Gun violence

meika_one's review

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book is very atmospheric and literary.  It explores the emotional substrate of how people process fear and terror.  There aren't any supernatural elements, so it read as psychological thriller to me.  Similar to Apt Pupil, but more cosmic.  It skates on the blade edge of innocence.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

seawarrior's review

dark tense

5.0

Endlessly disturbing and breathtakingly creative, Jawbone is a story of adolescent daring and purity that descends into violence. Ojeda's use of language, bodily disgust, and topical pop culture references create a story that is unique to the point of mythological. The horror draws the reader in and then clamps down its teeth, culminating in an ending soaked in madness and terror. One of the greatest horror stories I've ever read, and not recommended for the faint of heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Excrement, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Death of parent, Outing, and Sexual harassment