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liblibby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Murder
cass_lit's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Homophobia, Violence, Child abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Fatphobia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Transphobia and Pedophilia
chris_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I enjoyed the plot and—while at times meandering—his prose was great. I liked the focus on classic vampire lore and how it connects to the characters' tenets of literature and religion in the modern world. But there were things that bogged it down as well.
To start, there were so many characters referenced it felt like I was expected to learn the names and personalities of the entire town. I liked the main players, and thankfully I got over the confusion once the plot got going and focused more on them. There were a couple relevant female characters, but I wish they had a larger role in the story overall. And of course the casual use of homophobic slurs/mentions of rape/slut shaming really date the book. And I honestly expected it to be scarier.
I'd heard about his lackluster endings more than once, but I quite enjoyed this one. I thought it worked for the story being told, if a bit simply. And I know horror endings are though to land.
Overall a good book with flaws. I'm definitely willing to try more of his work, so if anyone has suggestions of where to start, please feel free.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Alcoholism, and Animal death
Minor: Blood, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, and Rape
shieldbearer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Car accident, Grief, Sexual content, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Fatphobia, Ableism, Islamophobia, Transphobia, War, Bullying, Medical content, Racism, Racial slurs, Homophobia, and Vomit
Minor: Excrement, Addiction, Rape, Pedophilia, and Abortion
milorogers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Death, Sexual harassment, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, and Violence