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grey_jayne's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Murder, Terminal illness, Violence, Bullying, and Death of parent
bees_knees735's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Torture
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, and Domestic abuse
atmissv's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Grief, Bullying, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Excrement, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
trashgobby's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Rape, Murder, Death, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Terminal illness, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Animal death, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, and Bullying
Minor: Classism, Cursing, Misogyny, Vomit, Suicide, and Body shaming
chellyfishing's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Death, Blood, Animal death, Sexual violence, and Murder
sarah984's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
fangirljeanne's review
- 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
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.
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
chloesnotscared's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Alcohol, Body horror, Animal death, and Sexual violence
devynreadsnovels's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Murder, Gore, Blood, Torture, Misogyny, Alcohol, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Drug use, Grief, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Animal death, Sexism, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical content, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, and Rape
mourtarymaggots's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Sexual violence, Stalking, Murder, Infidelity, Gore, Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Torture, Sexual content, Blood, Mental illness, and Excrement
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Animal death, Abortion, and Cannibalism