Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

60 reviews

haileyhardcover's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Do you ever finish a book and have a headache but, like, in a good way? Like you’re going to need several hours or maybe several lifetimes to process what the fuck you just read? Like you’ve just emerged, somehow physically unscathed, from a gruesome fever dream made real? That is how I felt after finishing Tell Me I’m Worthless. 

How can I even explain to you that this book is not SCARY, but it IS terrifying? It is horrific in a way that I wasn’t fully prepared for, and also in ways that I can’t even fully comprehend. It’s gutting. It will haunt me, and I’m grateful. 

Please read the trigger warnings before reading

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Antisemitism, Blood, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Self harm, Transphobia, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug abuse, Violence, Suicide, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Bullying, Hate crime, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Transphobia

kingsamong's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Transphobia, Self harm, Racism, Antisemitism, Sexual violence, Body horror, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

martinza's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

I cried a little bit after finishing it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Dysphoria, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Death, Excrement, Murder, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Gore, Grief, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Transphobia

mateyy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Death, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Violence, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry

lynxpardinus's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Vomit, Antisemitism, Blood, Deadnaming, Death, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Deportation, Excrement, Mass/school shootings, War, Child abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Bullying, and Classism

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic and Incest

sargasso_c's review against another edition

Maybe I'm just not getting it, but the book seems to layer queer trauma on top of queer trauma without pausing for a breath or a speck of narrative. At a certain point, I just wasn't enjoying myself. The novel isn't particularly scary in an enjoyable, horror novel way - it's just genuinely horrifying in the real-life and sad way. And I don't read to experience that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Body horror, Drug use, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Pedophilia

l_will8889's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

2.25

I had a really hard time getting through the 140 pages it took to get to the plot that was described on the back of the book. Two whole pages were devoted to transcribing a 4chan post with minimal punctuation, when we got maybe two sentences of lead-in to what should have been a shattering plot twist had there been enough build up. Ila’s perspective and motivations got lost, which made the events of the return to the House and the epilogue feel rushed. The pace and editing didn’t do the story justice (especially if you’re someone who has a hard time with poetry or reading when there aren’t a lot of paragraph breaks). 

That being said, the characters were compelling and difficult in a way that felt honest to their experiences. I loved the literal dual POV moment describing the absolute horror of what really went down between Alice and Ila in the House; the two column format was so unique and gripping I wish I could have read both simultaneously. Unfortunately, I just didn’t find myself enjoying the rest of this book as much as I wanted to. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Body horror, Rape, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Grief, Alcoholism, Addiction, Classism, Self harm, and Suicide

maranda_maria's review

challenging dark tense medium-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

3.5

I wanted to really like this book because it touches on themes of fascism, queerphobia (particularly transphobia), and the terrifying political landscape of today. I loved how complicated the characters were, and how we can never truly like any of them. They are all equally, horribly flawed, and are constantly at war with the worst parts of themselves. I particularly enjoyed The House as a character and entity. The House makes an incredible villain and vessel to explore the themes of rising fascism in the UK. However, the themes were spelled out to the reader in the text like this was Sesame Street. As a piece of horror, the author did not put enough trust in the reader to put the pieces together ourselves, which never fully allows the reader to be completely engrossed in the story.  I felt many things could have been more implicit and it would have made for a much more harrowing and terrifying tale. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Antisemitism, and Hate crime

Moderate: Homophobia, Alcohol, Excrement, Blood, Gore, Sexism, and Vomit

Honestly, this book is not for anyone with any major triggers, especially as relates to sexual violence, racism, xenophobia, transphobia, or antisemitism.

bookishfaye's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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

5.0

What a brilliant & rageful albeit explicitly horrific & triggering exploration of trauma, fascism, transness, transphobia, racism etc utilized through haunted house metaphor. A really powerful read holy moly

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Racism, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Body horror, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Self harm, Violence, Sexism, Excrement, Homophobia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Blood, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Body shaming, Cursing, Deportation, and Dysphoria

theliteraryhooker's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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

3.0

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this one. While the concept is interesting and I liked the "character" of the House, I found the book often lacked the subtlety I expected. Maybe that's on me for not having accurate expectations, but it definitely had an impact on my connection to the book. The themes here are important and handled mostly well, but I sometimes felt like they didn't integrate into the story in a natural way, so I found myself totally invested in some parts of the book and then disconnected from others. I'll definitely read more by this author, and I can see why people love this book, it just wasn't completely for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Body horror, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Drug abuse, Violence, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Self harm