Take a photo of a barcode or cover
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very (only) okay. My enjoyment of this book definitely suffered from my reading it right after The Chain by Adrian McKinty, which I thought was just so thrilling and weird and surprising and brilliant. This is NOT that; it’s not any of those things. The writing is basic and ordinary, the character growth or development nonexistent, et al. I think the most egregious is that there’s no point of view, no POINT, about why this story even exists or what a thriller is there to do — somehow it’s just gory to be gory, and the people are just gross and awful bc they’re gross and awful. And I guess I feel that even in genre fiction there should be some kind of point or perspective or any attempt at making something interesting and not totally formulaic and blasé. But this doesn’t. As I write I realize I need to switch this star rating from a 3 to a 2, haha. It’s okay — I finished it, it didn’t like mortally offend me. But it is totally unremarkable in every way and I will forget every detail in the next 48 hours, I think.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism