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chouxlette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
At first I was like there’s no way these characters are older than 20, but Alice says she’s 29 so I’m guessing everyone else is around that age. It’s first person perspective, but Alice talks like someone who is much younger than she actually is hence why I didn’t believe she was close to 30.
The writing style eers on the YA side and it feels like this was written as a YA novel then the author later decided to age up all the characters. There needed to be more showing of certain actions, emotions, feelings etc rather than just telling.
The plot is the most interesting aspect of the book and the only reason I kept reading. I was hooked and needed to know what happened and why. It feels like the author wrote this with the intention to get it turned into a film or tv show. Some parts of the book feel like instructions to a camera which is weird considering this is a novel and not a script.
Comparing this to Midsommar and Blair Witch Project is definitely a bold choice. The novel isn’t bad—I finished it after all. It definitely needed more character development, stronger sentences as well as description.
I wouldn’t recommend this to older readers or anyone who reads above a high school reading level.
The YA crowd would definitely eat this up as well as anyone who likes a creepy story or is just bored.
Lastly, The authors note at the beginning shouldn’t have been there. In my honest opinion, we should be able to know a book is about mental illness without being told it’s about mental illness and how women get treated due to their mental illness.
The author note forces the reader to already have that conclusion and not question the very questionable representation of mental illness. If the author really wanted it in the novel, it could have gone at the end, but setting up a novel like that almost makes me think the author had no real confidence in what was being written about.
Graphic: Rape, Ableism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Miscarriage
bookedbymadeline'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
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Body horror, and Gore
Minor: Alcoholism and Miscarriage
mooniemushi'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
1.0
Graphic: Ableism, Abandonment, Body horror, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racism, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, and Mental illness
madarauchiha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It's a passable horror story. It's not so much supernatural horror as it is religious and human horror. It's definitely tense, with some scary parts. There's more gore-horror than scary-horror, if that makes sense. I felt like it could have used more paranoia inducing stalking / hunting scenes. Otherwise it was pretty satisfactory. The ending was solid and answered every question posed. Despite the content warnings, this isn't too tortureporn-y. The writing and translation was clear and enjoying too.
Content warnings.
minor alcohol use, alcoholism, asphyxiation, blood, bone fractures, cancer, child abuse, confinement, death, emetophobia, infertility, jonestown massacre, mass suicide, miscarriage, murder, pedophilia, pregnancy, rape, self harm, sexual violence, smoking tobacco, suicide ideation, whorephobic language [used twice]
medium ableism towards person with autism, child abuse, childbirth, cults, emetophobia, medical content, mental illness, pregnancy, psychosis, sexual assault, suicide, suicide attempt
major ableism, arson? / explosions, cults, death, gore, murder, religion catholicism
Graphic: Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Abandonment, Medical content, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Vomit, Infertility, Suicide, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts