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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Police brutality, Death of parent
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Max and Erin used to date until they broke up and did not speak for two years, and then Max invites Erin to come along with him to California. Both of them happen to be trans. She is reluctant but agrees to the road trip. Max wants to be in a place in which he can be safe and transition, and Erin only agrees to come with him because she worries about him. They end up getting stuck in a small town in which girls are sacrificed to a monster in the woods. Erin and Max get in a lot of arguments before and during their fight to survive the locals who at first plan to sacrifice Erin, then change their minds and choose Max as their sacrifice. This book does an excellent job at showing how ridiculous transphobia and gender essentialism are. I also really liked when Erin and Max discussed whether monsters and cryptids would care about gender and the speculations on if they did or didn't. The friendship between Max and Erin was also so sweet and I really adore how they support each other as they fight to survive. There is a lot of transphobia, misgendering, mention of suicide and murder of trans people so anyone who is not in the right frame may want to hold off on reading this book. I am definitely going to read this again and I will read Logan-Ashley Kisner's next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Transphobia, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i enjoyed this a lot. trans horror in rural america during a disastrous roadtrip to california just hits the spot for me. especially when the horror comes primarily from crimes committed by people themselves, rather than from some supernatural being.
i’m not as familiar with horror as i’d like to be, but i recognise the final girl trope, and erin getting to live out that trope —and win the night with it — brings me joy. when she wields the rifle in the forest , she reminded me of samara weaving from the 2019 movie “ready or not”, in her bridal dress and blood splatter and shotgun. 🥺
the emotional highs hit, and the book has some really nice lines such as these:
i’m not as familiar with horror as i’d like to be, but i recognise the final girl trope, and erin getting to live out that trope —
the emotional highs hit, and the book has some really nice lines such as these:
Maybe Erin is the one woman who can make it in their death cult because they don’t view her as a woman at all.
word vomit time:
i like the discovery that
so getting eaten isn’t an inherent trait of girlhood. instead, your community pushes you into that position if they perceive you as a girl, because patriarchy 🗣️🗣️ aka because of beliefs like these:
“Because girls are just easier,” he finally says. “Men don’t want to take orders. Men make things a thousand times more complicated. Always gotta be the hero. Whatever makes up a man ain’t meant to be consumed.”
said by a character who, when questioned, doesn’t know for certain why the beast goes after girls (or knows that
in reality, you’re like any other sane being who’ll run from the beast when you’re trussed up in front of it. then you get eaten, reinforcing your community’s justification of feeding people whom they think look like you to the beast, in order to keep their own fears of the beast at bay. it’s tragic and hysterical.
such a system contributes to erin
i don’t think this was super groundbreaking but!! it’s still fun. i like the message. 🥺
i did wish max got a fuller emotional arc and closure, just like erin did. max acts dickish for a good part of the book — even though i understand him, that his behavior stems from them not having similar struggles with coming out and transitioning — and erin is hella patient with him about it. admirable, lol.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Kind of baffled at the high ratings. The only thing solid here was the action and the desperation. The horror, the beast, the main characters, the over-explanation of everything (especially the transness but also sexism and poverty) EXCEPT what was really interesting … man idk. If you want devastating trans horror (albeit without the supernatural element), go pick up Compound Fracture.
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt
Minor: Death of parent