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nrogers_1030's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Blood, Murder, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism
czoltak's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I honestly don’t know what happened with this. This book started out really well and then just fell apart more and more as the story went on. This was entirely too long and did not need to be over 400 pages. Especially since the ‘big reveal’ happened basically 100 pages in. I don’t understand why Christina Henry felt the need to reveal the twist so soon. Also the racism in this was over the top. This is not that old so why did it feel the need to fall into the trap older books have of beating us over the head with the fact that a character is bad with almost constant racism. News flash, I already knew the character was bad I didn’t need to listen to her racist ideals for pages and pages. And then, in the same story she wanted to have powerful conversations about female empowerment 🤨 which fell completely flat. I honestly don’t get this book and hope Christina Henry stays in the lane of Near The Bone instead and stays far away from this kind of writing again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Death, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, and Death of parent
julesjb's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Racism, Toxic friendship, Blood, Child death, and Death
sonygaystation's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Cool concept but muddy execution. Especially towards the end. Plus i felt the slurs and vitriol to express racism was so unnecessarily too much
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Child death, Racial slurs, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Racism, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, Murder, Gun violence, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Body shaming, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Deportation, Pregnancy, and Infidelity
thekissballad's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
The idea was good, but poorly executed, in my opinion. As much as it pains me, 2.5, and that .5 is a gift because of the potential. The rest of my review may contain spoilers so it's hidden just in case.
First and foremost, Mrs. Schneider deserved a lot worse than a shot in the foot and being slapped / punched. Her POV also felt pointless. The only time her BS mattered was right at the end, and that scene could have easily been rewritten or removed all together.
Second, Miranda's POV was completely unnecessary. Her "slutty" thoughts and behaviors had no real purpose. She was so vapid and shallow that when she died, I wasn't moved. I was actually kind of glad. Sorry, not sorry.
Third, the witchy aspects were completely wasted and not thought out very well. Hell, Lauren ignored it and refused to believe it until the very end. Then David, the one character who even did anything truly witchy, was a side character.
Not to mention the "end the curse" moment was so anti-climactic, and the ending itself left much to be desired.
Fourth, the whole dynamic between Lauren and her mom, Karen, is ridiculous. There's so much hate between them over the most pointless of shit, and then Lauren finally gets her first period and suddenly things are better? How tf does that make any sense? If this were a day or two thing, sure, I could see it, but the fact that Lauren alludes to their discourse having started shortly after (if not before) her father died, makes it such a cop out.
Additionally, Lauren suddenly switching personalities all because Jake expressed his feelings? Ugh.
Fifth, the repetition and abundance of minute details was the real killer of this book. I feel like you could have cut out all of this, plus Miranda's POV and a few others, and reworked Mrs. Schneider's existance, and you'd have a much better story. Possibly novella. And I'd probably have enjoyed it then. This just felt like an attempt to write a full novel, without having enough content to actually write the length needed.
Second, Miranda's POV was completely unnecessary. Her "slutty" thoughts and behaviors had no real purpose. She was so vapid and shallow that when she died, I wasn't moved. I was actually kind of glad. Sorry, not sorry.
Third, the witchy aspects were completely wasted and not thought out very well. Hell, Lauren ignored it and refused to believe it until the very end. Then David, the one character who even did anything truly witchy, was a side character.
Not to mention the "end the curse" moment was so anti-climactic, and the ending itself left much to be desired.
Fourth, the whole dynamic between Lauren and her mom, Karen, is ridiculous. There's so much hate between them over the most pointless of shit, and then Lauren finally gets her first period and suddenly things are better? How tf does that make any sense? If this were a day or two thing, sure, I could see it, but the fact that Lauren alludes to their discourse having started shortly after (if not before) her father died, makes it such a cop out.
Additionally, Lauren suddenly switching personalities all because Jake expressed his feelings? Ugh.
Fifth, the repetition and abundance of minute details was the real killer of this book. I feel like you could have cut out all of this, plus Miranda's POV and a few others, and reworked Mrs. Schneider's existance, and you'd have a much better story. Possibly novella. And I'd probably have enjoyed it then. This just felt like an attempt to write a full novel, without having enough content to actually write the length needed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Toxic friendship, Violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Vomit, Child death, Death of parent, Death, and Racial slurs
laudraak's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Death
sunshinestark's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Racism, Death of parent, Death, and Adult/minor relationship
an_d_r_e_e_a's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
ladykatka's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I really like the concept of this story, it is quite good. Also, David is too good, we don't deserve him.
I didn't rate the book very high though because the romantic relationships in this book are actually pretty gross. The main heroine is 14, and the author makes us the reader painfully aware she is a very young 14, a child. She dresses like a child, plays pretend like a child, and has no interest in boys. Yet this 18 year old is interested in her and wants to date her? Why? Why? Why I ask you? It is gross and makes no sense what so ever. Ewww.
Then there is her friend, she wants to be a grown, she wants to womanly and worldly and cool. She thinks she has to be sexy and desirable to do so. Ok, granted, we all know young teens with this mindset, but to have her actually get into a sexual relationship with an adult is seriously messed up. In the end, it doesn't work out and you could say the take away is "This kind of relationship is dangerous" but it is still really gross.
I didn't rate the book very high though because the romantic relationships in this book are actually pretty gross. The main heroine is 14, and the author makes us the reader painfully aware she is a very young 14, a child. She dresses like a child, plays pretend like a child, and has no interest in boys. Yet this 18 year old is interested in her and wants to date her? Why? Why? Why I ask you? It is gross and makes no sense what so ever. Ewww.
Then there is her friend, she wants to be a grown, she wants to womanly and worldly and cool. She thinks she has to be sexy and desirable to do so. Ok, granted, we all know young teens with this mindset, but to have her actually get into a sexual relationship with an adult is seriously messed up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content and Fatphobia
bookbelle5_17's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A small town is haunted by curse where they must sacrifice a girl to monster every year to a monster hidden in the Ghost Tree. Lauren's dad "ruined" everything when he refused to sacrifice his daughter Lauren, messed up the curse. The monster is free and the rules go out the window.
The atmosphere of this horror is creepy and unsettling with a small town slowly reveals that something is not about it. People of this town will have no memory of sacrificing their daughters and there's this underlying seething emotions underneath the surface of these people. Lauren as a main character is relatable with her crazy emotions and her insecurities. She is grieving the lost of her father and blames her mom. She has a hostile relationship with mom that is familiar, though not everyone is so hateful towards their mom. I'm not a mom, but I can understand the mom's frustration and pain. She struggles being a good parent, being angry at her husband, and trying to provide for them. Lauren's relationship with her best friend is also relatable. They are growing apart and maturing at different rates. Lauren is still innocent while her friend Miranda is interested in guys and has bad examples for how to behaves with guys. I enjoyed the supernatural aspect with the curse and witches, though there wasn't enough magic in the story. I like how we didn't see the monster we just got hints of the monster but we never fully see it until the climax. The creepy forest added to the atmosphere and the Ghost Tree itself made me think of the Tree of the Dead in Sleepy Hollow. There is also a subplot of racism. A Mexican family moves and bigot old lady thinks they are to blame. This adds to the madness the town is slowing experience as the curse falls apart from the curse be altered. I had a good time reading this chilling narrative.
The atmosphere of this horror is creepy and unsettling with a small town slowly reveals that something is not about it. People of this town will have no memory of sacrificing their daughters and there's this underlying seething emotions underneath the surface of these people. Lauren as a main character is relatable with her crazy emotions and her insecurities. She is grieving the lost of her father and blames her mom. She has a hostile relationship with mom that is familiar, though not everyone is so hateful towards their mom. I'm not a mom, but I can understand the mom's frustration and pain. She struggles being a good parent, being angry at her husband, and trying to provide for them. Lauren's relationship with her best friend is also relatable. They are growing apart and maturing at different rates. Lauren is still innocent while her friend Miranda is interested in guys and has bad examples for how to behaves with guys. I enjoyed the supernatural aspect with the curse and witches, though there wasn't enough magic in the story. I like how we didn't see the monster we just got hints of the monster but we never fully see it until the climax. The creepy forest added to the atmosphere and the Ghost Tree itself made me think of the Tree of the Dead in Sleepy Hollow. There is also a subplot of racism. A Mexican family moves and bigot old lady thinks they are to blame. This adds to the madness the town is slowing experience as the curse falls apart from the curse be altered. I had a good time reading this chilling narrative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, and Murder