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miggyfool's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Body shaming, Death, Excrement, Misogyny, Torture, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Classism, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Body horror, Addiction, Outing, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Colonisation, Gore, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Transphobia, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, and Rape
kirsty_laird's review
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Animal death, Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Blood, Deadnaming, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Deportation, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Rape, Dysphoria, Excrement, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
thebankofbooks's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Antisemitism, Racism, Rape, Violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Suicide, Vomit, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Excrement, Deportation, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Ableism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, and Toxic friendship
keenanmaree's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Transphobia, Vomit, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content
howlinglibraries's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I'm applauding myself a little for getting this far before I decided to look up spoilers and call it a day. While this book will certainly have its audience, that audience isn't me. Not only do I think the writing is mediocre (and a very clear imitation of Shirley Jackson that falls short), but the mass amounts of hate in this book are nausea-inducing, even for someone, like me, who doesn't have triggers for these particular things.
Content-specific issues I had:
- massive amounts of anti-Semitism (VERY hateful language, numerous cruel Holocaust references, terrible treatment of a Jewish side character)
- how racist Alice is and has been in the past
- the portrayal of a closeted trans man as a very vocal and well-known TERF
- how heavy-handed the usage of rape as a plot device is (it is literally referenced and/or depicted constantly!)
As an aside, while I certainly don't feel like it's fair to hold it against a trans author for writing graphic transphobia, I have never read such gratuitous, over-the-top transphobia in any other book as this one. There's a scene in particular where a forum post/transphobic fantasy is included that is so long-winded and repetitive and cruel that I finally had to tune out the audiobook altogether until it was over.
I had tremendously high hopes for this book and author, and was genuinely banking on having a new favorite of the year here, but every single page has been an utter and complete disappointment and I can't currently say I have any desire to read future works by Rumfitt.
Thank you to the publisher and LibroFM for the audio review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Ableism, Transphobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual harassment, Antisemitism, Self harm, Physical abuse, and Death
ellisdex's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Homophobia, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Rape, Racism, Antisemitism, Body horror, Sexual content, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Misogyny, Alcohol, Blood, Dysphoria, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Car accident, Torture, Death, Infertility, Murder, Vomit, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
laiva's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Excrement, Gore, Hate crime, Murder, Pedophilia, Antisemitism, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
enchantressreads'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
4.0
Alice and Ila couldn’t be more opposites—Alice is a trans woman, while Ila is a TERF, actively writing articles about how trans women are the downfall of society. What they have in common is the House.
Tell Me I’m Worthless is a slow burn, and I didn’t know what was going on half of the time, but I was in for the vibes. The story is told in four different perspectives: Alice’s, Ila’s, Hannah’s (their third friend, who didn’t make it out of Albion), and the House. My favorite chapters were definitely the House’s. That’s when things really got weird.
The House shows how fully ingrained transphobia (and all the other phobias) are into not just our minds, but the very soil we live on. A seed that’s planted will be growing for centuries, if it’s planted correctly. While veiled in a haunted house story, it’s really a story about society as a whole.
“Tell me what you think of me, what you really think of me. Tell me I’m nothing. Tell me I’m worthless.”
There are plenty of trigger warnings for this novel, which Rumfitt generously gives at the beginning of the book, so read with caution. TW for dysphoria, blood, racism, antisemitism, rape (on page), sexual assault, violence, sexual violence, transphobia, toxic relationship/friendship, suicide attempt, self harm, drug use/abuse, domestic abuse, animal death, xenophobia, and an adult/minor relationship.
With that said, tread with caution. But if you are in a good headspace for this book, I definitely recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the chance to read this advanced review copy. Tell Me I’m Worthless is on shelves now.
Graphic: Antisemitism, Blood, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Rape, Violence, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Self harm, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
jamieleepilk's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Rape, Deadnaming, Death, Dysphoria, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Violence, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Self harm, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse
carleneb's review
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Blood, Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Transphobia, Torture, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gore, Gaslighting, Addiction, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, and Drug use