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rosekantorczyk's review
- 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
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
ananamauvais's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Dysphoria, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Self harm, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Blood, and Cursing
archaicrobin's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
This book had scenes that were absolutely horrifying and had so many references to other literary haunted house stories, like The Haunting of Hill House and Bluebeard’s ghost. While the horror elements were superb this book at times read like a fever dream with chapters that were strings of consciousness from the characters, including the house itself. The author intertwines the supernatural horror with the horror of bigotry, hate, and sexual violence so well that there were scenes I struggled to read.
If you’re looking for a unique horror story with diverse characters and a meld of horror and social commentary then I highly recommend Tell Me I’m Worthless.
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Gore, Racism, Animal death, Misogyny, Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Vomit, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Blood, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, and Sexual violence
chelsevie'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? It's complicated
3.25
3 words on the cover of this book that drew me in, in the hope of reigniting my reading habits and discovering something that would be 'right up my street'.
In many ways, Tell Me I'm Worthless was that, and there is a lot to applaud it for. But even as a hardened horror fan, I found the sheer violence and explicit imagery a little tough to bear at times and readers should definitely be cautious of some of its more inflammatory content.
What if the evil of fascism was secretly thriving in the UK? What if the very heart of it had a precise location, and a paedophile politician built a large foreboding house right on top of it, a house with a diseased soul that infects all who find themselves within its reach? What if 3 girls enter that house, and only 2 leave, deeply scarred and conflicted by their experiences within?
The trouble is, the two women have dramatically different recollections of what happened there, and the memory of the place and its inescapable haunting presence has set them on very different, but equally destructive paths. Are they haunted by their trauma? Or is their trauma a series of unreliable memories formulated and implanted by the haunted house? 3 years later, can they agree to put their differences aside and trust each other enough to go back to the house and attempt to put an end to it?
Honestly, the finale; the 'You' chapter towards the end, was disappointing to me. Interesting as a literary experiment, but too jarring in its construction and its placement within the narrative, brazenly skipping over the one integral scene that as a reader I'd been thirsting for for pages beforehand. Anti-climatic and too confused in its message.
Whilst there are some great, imaginative passages within this book, there are also many over long and over wrought sections that are far too 'ranty'; not only wearing its politics on its sleeve, but shamelessly beating you with them in a way that seemed at times too patronising and reductive.
Having said that, I really enjoyed the chapters that were written from the perspective of Albion; the house itself, an embodiment of fascism that lives and breathes and yes, talks, to the reader and to the central characters. Haunted houses may just be one of my favourite horror sub-genres, and Albion was unique and refreshing in many ways. Haunted, not by ghosts, or vengeance or even 'evil' - however you define that - but by an ideology. This house wasn't turned bad by some destructive force or traumatic event, rather it was a darkness that had always been there, lying in wait below the surface, invigored by the tools of man that gave it bricks and mortar and a tangible structure to inhabit and prey from.
I'd also like to admit, rather embarrassingly , that this is the first book I've read with a trans lead character, and in this case that fact is intrinsic to the story, which is not a detraction against the book at all, but an important point nonetheless. We need more queer writers, more queer stories and characters, but even more so than that, we need more authors who are able to unflinchingly lay bare the 21st century trans experience - warts and all - and for that I commend Rumfitt.
There is much more to say about this book, and Ill enjoy reading other reviews and perhaps returning to in the future. Whilst, I'd be very careful who I'd recommend this to, this is a promising debut from Rumfitt, who I hope will remain in the horror genre for years to come.
Approach with caution.
Graphic: Rape, Transphobia, Sexual violence, and Homophobia
noemi_qu'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
3.25
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.
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
kathleenwho's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gore, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Vomit, Death, Body horror, Blood, Antisemitism, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Outing, Rape, and Violence
elizaahhh's review
- 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? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
murk's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
As a queer person involved in the community, “shock horror” never really did anything for me. The long winded tangents felt unnecessary and didn’t stick the landing to prove the points they desperately wanted to.
Toxic, damaged characters are hard to write and have people care about. Usually I love reading/watching the slow train wreck but I felt bored and uninvested in what happened to them.
There are some good scenes, but they get lost in the whiplash of the rest of the book.
Not the worst afternoon read, but one I had to force myself to finish.
Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Sexual content, and Transphobia
Moderate: Antisemitism
mumblee's review
- 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? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Death, Rape, Self harm, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Body horror, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
jazthegreat's review
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Antisemitism, Body horror, Addiction, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Dysphoria, Excrement, Racism, Alcohol, and Blood