Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Tell Me I'm Worthless

A few things that jump out to me when it comes to Tell Me I'm Worthless is the way the author spins the narrative bouncing from multiple points of view.

I find that the third person, multiple points of view essentially make it a little bit more confusing when going between, ila, Alice, Hannah and Jacob and even the House's point of view. I also need to say that Tell Me I'm Worthless is a very dark book and that readers should be prepared for all of the graphic details and metaphors and analogies that happened in the book.

There are a lots triggering elements/moments in the book but the main ones they should be aware of transphobia, sexual assault, harassment, racism, systemic racism, prejudices, misogyny, and the crooked, political and justice system. The author has a lot of nods to elements in the global society prejudices, but mainly focused on the elements that take place in London/England society.

I have read material from British authors before so I could follow along, but there were a few bits that were confusing. I also found that Tell Me I'm Worthless core was about the affects of society's toxic attitudes not only became one with the inhabitants of the house but also the house itself.

At times, I found I was being led by a backwards/forwards narrative due to a lot of double meanings present in the book.

With all of that said, strong themes when it came to the characters I got from Tell Me I'm Worthless was centered on identity, belonging, conformity, and self loathing. And the house of the story was this surcharged vessel that attracts the darker sides of people, seemed to encourage and enhance the evil in people's hearts.

There was a lot to deconstruct from this book and there were parts I just couldn't understand. I find that this may have been a good book for a book club discussion rather than a solo read, but that's my opinion.

Content Warnings

the_horror_maven's review

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dark emotional tense medium-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

3.0

Content Warnings

jfontaine's review against another edition

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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

4.5

The content warning at the start of the book is crucial. Readers really need to know what they're getting themselves into with this book, and it is so dark, so graphic, so chilling. There were moments that made me feel physically ill. The narration is brilliant and nuanced. I don't know that I can recommend it because it is truly horrifying, but it's important and I know I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

Content Warnings

f18's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-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

5.0

Content Warnings

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-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

3.0

Content Warnings

kashaannee's review

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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

2.5

This book isn’t bad, I really enjoyed the concept and I think that it could’ve been a favourite. My main problem is the excessive amount of (tw)

rape and sexual assault

. The transphobia was also kind of jarring. This is to be expected for a book like this, it really is, but personally the way the SA was written and so graphic really diminished my enthusiasm towards it. The ending was honestly one of the better parts and I know a lot of people less sensitive to these topics would really enjoy it as an exploration of fascism in the UK through a classic horror trope.

I just couldn’t really move past it, usually I can stomach the more extreme things but something about the way these things were written made it a less enjoyable experience. I want to read the author’s other book and see if I enjoy it more, because she has talent! If you want to read this book PLEASE listen to the trigger warnings, even if you’re an enjoyer of the more extreme sides of horror.

Content Warnings

meguary's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

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

Trigger warnings for fascism, racism, anti-semitism, transphobia, and probably every other type of ism you could think of honestly. This reads like torture porn and the type of edgelord writing that’s solely intended to upset without actually saying anything helpful or useful. I know a lot of people seemed to like it but I really wouldn’t recommend it to anyone

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