Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Maeve Fly by C.J. Leede

6 reviews

axel_p's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Fatphobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Drug use, Body shaming, Gore, Toxic friendship, Violence, Grief, Sexual content, and Torture

ecn's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

Points off for the inclusion of (potentially?) Johnny Depp. No thanks

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Stalking, Terminal illness, Vomit, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Violence, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, and Fatphobia

sarah984's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

I picked this up because of the cool looking cover, after seeing it recommended as "feminist body horror" on Likewise. So if you are like me I will save you some time: it's not feminist or body horror. The cover is cool though.

The main character is a woman but she hates and/or belittles all other women (except her grandmother, who is a complete non-entity in this story) and thinks she's unique as a woman due to her misanthropy. The book makes a big deal about it being sexist that stories require women to have trauma to be villains when men can just do what they want, but then gives Maeve villain trauma. The romance is all "oh he was so much bigger than me" straight people crap.

Several quotes and entire scenes are lifted whole cloth from American Psycho but nothing interesting is done with that at all.

I really have to wonder who this book was for. I feel like it was somehow simultaneously too much and too tame, like it's not extreme horror because pretty much everything "extreme" happens off screen, but too much "extreme" content is implied for this to appeal to normies. Baffling book.

Some of the Halloween music trivia was interesting, so 2 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death, Medical content, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Murder

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Confinement, Gore, Torture, Toxic relationship, Classism, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Violence

Minor: Pedophilia, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Grief, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Vomit, Drug use, Stalking, Physical abuse, Animal death, and Racism

vixenreader's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Despite some over-indulgence on nihilism, this book is fun, bone-chilling, and surprisingly poignant, especially with the protagonist’s attempts at latching onto the people she cherishes the most. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Gore, Body horror, Blood, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Bullying, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Medical content

Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Fatphobia, Confinement, Physical abuse, Vomit, Drug use, Animal cruelty, and Classism

Minor: Xenophobia, Abortion, Racism, Stalking, and Rape

Be aware that there is a death of a grandparent, bodies in cellars, bones used for decorations, risky kinks and fetishes, urine, unwanted items shoved into unwilling orifices, hunger for fame, “the casting couch,” doll disfigurement, pornography, and drugging beverages for the goal of assaulting someone.

fangirljeanne's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I don’t know what it says about me that I was sad that this didn’t have a happy ending, but it is what it is.

This is a great horror novel, beautifully grotesque and emotionally raw to an uncomfortable degree. It’s very much more lit fic than in tone and execution than horror or splatter punk, though it absolutely holds its own in both genres. The experience of being a woman, especially one who doesn’t fit the unattainable hypocrisy of socially acceptable feminine ideals, is a horrific mind-bending experience.

Maeve is not unique in her weird or messiness, take out the overt violence and this would be like many other women’s lit narrative about the trauma of living under patriarchy. But here, in the framing of a horror novel this narrative feels more authentic, more autonomous compared to the passive victimhood of a lot of white women’s navel gazing fiction, at least until the end. Maeve felt like she was going to give the cliche narrative of the weird girl, the creepy girl, the femme fatale a newer better ending. One where she embraces that aspects of herself that fear of society tells her to suppress and hate. While she escapes the typical fate of “fallen women” of literature, she is still punished for refusing to conform to society. That’s the only aspect of the story I disliked. It felt like a step back after so many subversive strides forward.

I get it, this is a horror novel. Heartbreak is an important aspect of that genre. But I would also argue that few things are quite as frightening to patriarchy as a villainous woman getting everything she wants including love and acceptance. 

Highly recommended to fans of graphic horror and dark humor. If you love the movie May (2002) this book might be for you too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcohol, Body shaming, Grief, Torture, Animal death, Bullying, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Cancer, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Medical content, Sexual assault, Classism, Ableism, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Stalking, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Drug use, Excrement, Rape, Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Chronic illness

eisenbuns's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Excrement, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Medical content, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Grief, Sexual content, Death, Drug use, Body horror, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, and Stalking