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Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Sexual violence, Suicide, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
Minor: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Excrement, Trafficking
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, Murder
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Stalking, Death of parent
Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment
Genuinely, am I high????? This book has really good reviews but I can't emphasize enough that it's the worst book I've ever read in my life. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone LMAO. And this isn't my first rodeo-pretty much all I read is thrillers.
Why I think this book is popular: the twist. It was a clever idea, and it was a really cool twist, and everyone talks about how it changed the entire book. If you are looking for a well-written thriller with a twist you're not seeing coming that changes the entire book within the last few chapters, I recommend "What Lies in the Woods" by Kate Alice Marshall (my favorite book) or "When She Was Me" by Marlee Bush.
In reality, the twist was so poorly executed. It wasn't worth the chunk of my life I used to read it, except for the fury and laughs it brought. Genuinely, this was the same kind of reading experience that people read My Immortal to get. If you want to read it to laugh at how bad it is, it's as funny and infuriating as a good bad book will get you, so I'd recommend it on that front.
What I hated about this book:
-Bad writing. If you've ever been in a community writing class, it sounds like that one novel that that one guy brings in. You know exactly what I'm talking about if you've been in one.
-Abysmal narrator. No amount of intentionality can make me appreciate how abysmal this narrator was. I look for character-driven novels, and this character was driving me towards ending it all (:
-Sexist, racist narrator with an infuriating martyr complex. Seriously. I don't care how intentional this was. I just don't see the pleasure of reading from the POV of someone so miserable. If you want to read a likeable unlikeable character, give "Bad Sheep" by Rachel Harrison a shot. If you want to read an actual unlikeable character for whatever reason, read this.
-This book was supposed to be about a woman's voice (or lack thereof), but it wouldn't even pass the Bechdel Test. If you're looking for thoughtful and insightful commentary on feminism, throw this book into the fire!!!!
What I liked about the book:
-I would trust the side character Paul with my life, and as an AFAB person who knows what it's like to experience a deep, primal fear, it made me laugh out loud that Paul was so scary to the narrator, who's a cis man, and therefore the scariest thing he can experience is getting hit in the head while committing a crime :)
This book is so infuriating, misogynistic, racist, and so ignorant towards mental health.
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment
Moderate: Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Murder