Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

10 reviews

zeldazonks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

It got to a certain point when I was listening to this, that I thought I had it figured out but I was still curious enough to finish and see how everything played out. Well, more fool me, because this book took me completely by surprise on 2 or 3 occasions. Towards the end it was quite tough to get through, so check trigger warnings.

I will also say that I'm not 100% convinced about the mental health representation/portrayal in this. While in the afterword the author does clarify more about the disorder and the research they did into it, the fact of the matter is that you are led to believe a very specific narrative about Ted through most of the novel and while the book does catch you off guard, and challenge the preconceived notions you have about predators and good vs bad people, I just don't think the book carries it off well enough to completely avoid perpetuating stereotypes or harm. This was interesting and quite unique, but I think it almost undermines it's own point in how obviously you're walked down the garden path for the majority of the book. I respect the bold choices - the pov of a cat for example, and

I think I'll be mulling over this one for a little bit, but I don't know that it managed to fully pull off what it was trying to do. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Child death, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Animal death, Torture, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Death, Confinement, and Blood

marisamoo's review

dark sad tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexism, Animal cruelty, and Sexual content

Dissociative identity disorder

melliedm's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gore, Animal cruelty, Medical trauma, Stalking, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Alcohol, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Ableism, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Child abuse, Body horror, and Mental illness

Moderate: Abandonment, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Child death, Homophobia, and Vomit

earofthedog's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Confinement, Child death, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical content, Blood, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Death, Pedophilia, and Torture

Minor: Animal death

spulls99's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Blood, Suicide, Child death, Pedophilia, Self harm, Stalking, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, and Mental illness

ivy123's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

This novel has multiple layers and is impossible to describe without spoiling anything. Overall this blends genres between horror, thriller and at times contemporary. Rather than bring focused on scares it centres around greif, regret and the comsequences of trauma. 

Although not what i would usually read I would highly recommend to others to give it a try as i really appreciate how it was written. The authors note as mentioned in other reviews is a must read after you have finished. At times it did seem like too many reveals at once rather than one big reveal but overall a well written and thought provoking book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Self harm, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Pedophilia

nicolesbookreviews's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Animal death, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Incest, Alcohol, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

keen's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Grief, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, and Torture

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Abandonment, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Pedophilia

Minor: Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide attempt

dfrancis's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Death, Confinement, and Mental illness

Moderate: Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Pedophilia, Animal death, Death of parent, and Grief

lmshearer's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book, despite its multiple-POV style pulled me in right away but unfortunately lagged in the middle. This allows the first twist in the story to be revealed to the reader at the same pace as it's realized by the character. I found this initially weak as it seemed to unmoor the story and its characters, but as I kept reading through the second and final acts understand why the author made the choice. So, if you're reading through this book and have a similar reaction, stick with it. This book deals in a lot of trauma, so please see the CWs below. Like my first Ruth Ware novel, I will certainly be seeking out more work from this author.

In reading the afterward, I appreciate the story even more. I like the concept of turning the ableist trope of DID so often used in the horror/thriller on its head. I was also so grateful at the main character reveal as it assuaged my conflicting empathy toward a presumed serial killer/pedophile. Like the author, I really liked Ted from the start, so having him turn out the victim in so many regards solidified my affection for him.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Torture