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Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse
Minor: Self harm
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Blood
This story signals itself early on, so if you somehow ended up in it and aren't on board with a sweet, loving take on the monsters of old fairy tales with sprinklings of horror and an abject appreciation for fat women, then maybe DNF it for your own sake so you don't end up having a bad time :)
I truly just think this was a beautiful story. Trying to be objective, I could see a few sticking points for some readers—a bit schmaltzy at some points, not understanding a monster's ability to integrate with humanity, predictable to a degree—but across the board I think John Wiswell knew what he wanted to write and he executed it flawlessly. These characters will be occupying my heart for the foreseeable future, and I welcome it.
(This also happens to be maybe the most successful writing of women—especially of queer women—I have seen by a man. That feels cutting, but if you too have suffered through the absolute dregs of Men-Writing-Women that a lot of people have, then you will appreciate this. It's amazing that "not misogynistic in any way" is such a plus, but my god is it a plus.)
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Body horror, Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Murder
There's great worldbuilding, great characters, great writing, humour, twists, asexual representation, tentacles. There are even a few mentions of dragons. I don't know what else I could possibly ask of a book. It reached for my heart in ways I couldn't have expected. The ending was perhaps a little long, technically speaking, but so satisfying.
I will probably be rereading Someone You Can Build a Nest In in the future.
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Confinement, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
It's clever and dark and sweet and very, very gory. I've never read anything like it, and I really, really loved it.
Graphic: Body horror
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Gore