Reviews tagging 'Deadnaming'

Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

55 reviews

grey_jayne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Alison Rumfitt's debut smashed my expectations. I wonder if a cis person would get as much out of this art but as a trans person, I felt very seen, especially in the darkness. What a terrifying haunted house and such traumatized people. And that ending! Make sure you check the content warnings: when Gretchen Felker-Martin calls something "brutal", you know it's gonna hit hard. And it does.

Rumfitt is such my kind of author that I will be rolling into her follow up Brainwyrms soon. In the U.S. both books came out this year so I'm playing catch up.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Rape, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Body shaming, Bullying, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Animal death

rosekantorczyk's review

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Self harm, Transphobia, Antisemitism, Gore, Rape, Violence, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Classism, Vomit, Hate crime, Racism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Excrement, Gore, Blood, and Deadnaming

Minor: Drug use, Infertility, Alcohol, Animal death, and Pedophilia

noemi_qu's review

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.25

This is not a story you read for escapism, it was a challenge to get through most of the graphic yet realistic details. Take the content warnings very much to heart and be in a good headspace to digest it all. 
The third act unfortunately felt too "eyelids forced opened a la clockwork orange" but still feels in line with what the author wanted so I'm going with a mid rating for that and the epilogue. It was a book that had something to say and it said it loud and brutal.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, Death, Body shaming, Transphobia, Rape, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Deadnaming, Antisemitism, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Self harm, Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, and Body horror

Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol

Minor: Vomit, Racial slurs, Animal death, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, and Pedophilia

woweewhoa's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Rape, Antisemitism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Violence, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gore, Excrement, Drug use, Sexism, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Xenophobia, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Infertility, and Homophobia

Minor: Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, and Fire/Fire injury

funfamilyvideos's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Transphobia, Racism, Rape, Hate crime, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Antisemitism, Pedophilia, Body horror, Blood, Death, and Dysphoria

Minor: Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Drug use, Excrement, Gore, and Mass/school shootings

walkonpooh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, Body horror, Deadnaming, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Gore, Drug abuse, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, and Death

elenavarg's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

It’s been a while since a horror book managed to truly horrify me, but this one certainly did. It had an overpowering sense of dread through-out as well as some truly terrifying scenes. It managed to walk the thin line between misery porn/exploitation and horror imagery.

I’m taking off one star because some of the more stream of conciousness chapters were not for my liking (they’re very hard for me to read, so I don’t enjoy them as a stylistic choice), one particularly on the nose scene of swastika-related body-horror (the scene was so absurd it made me laugh) and the weird, off-putting feeling I get when I’m not quite sure of an author’s ethnicity while their work discussed racism (I couldn’t find out, if Rumfitt herself is Jewish and/or brown; if so, this critisism is totally unrelated and unfounded).

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Body horror, Hate crime, Blood, Antisemitism, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Rape, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Excrement, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Drug use, Mental illness, Violence, Racism, Death, Deadnaming, Cursing, Xenophobia, and Self harm

Moderate: Islamophobia, Grief, Confinement, Sexual content, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

saeruh's review against another edition

challenging dark tense

3.0

oh wow this was a lot. A really, really gruesome and gory and traumatic book. I think a lot of the points it tried to make got bogged down in these massive rants supposed to coming from the house but just made me feel confused and very gross! The resolution of the story made absolutely no sense to me, these two characters were absolutely so toxic and despised each other and then suddenly they’re back in love?
   I know it’s British writing but wow was I tired of hearing the word “cunt!”
  Falls under the weird books for weird girls term but pls read and consider all of the triggers, I don’t think I did fully.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Excrement, Gore, Hate crime, Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Blood, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Body horror, Dysphoria, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual violence

luck13rabbit's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

There were parts of this book I liked so much. I wish it had been a little more metaphor and a little less obvious and preachy, but at the same time, I don't think that's bad. This is definitely a book some people need, and I'm so glad it exists. I just like my social commentary with more ghosts.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Antisemitism, Blood, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Rape, Self harm, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, and Drug use

ciaranolio's review

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

One of my favourite books, outright. An incredible, twisted horror story about fascism, womanhood, and social privilege, revolving around a haunted house (which is also England), among the finest of its kind in the storied and ghost-ridden neighbourhood of horror writing. Reminiscent of Gretchen Felker-Martin and Jonathan Sims in writing style and subject matter, this book concerns itself heavily with radicalisation, gender, and intersections of identity. Rumfitt's POV characters are incredible, both sympathetic and unlikeable in their own wholly separate ways. A must read, in my mind, for those not immediately put off by the graphic subject matter. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Racism, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, Rape, Body horror, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Blood, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Self harm, Gore, Homophobia, Islamophobia, and Body shaming

Minor: Alcohol, Deadnaming, Drug use, Genocide, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Animal death

Violent nazism, fascism, and especially modern white nationalism are at the core of this book. Proceed with caution if these are difficult topics, as Rumfitt (quite rightly) pulls no punches with the subject of the horror she describes.