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shrikebait's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
My jaw hit the floor at LEAST three times.
Look, I'm no stranger to crazy horror plot twists...but Life Support blindsided me so many times. This book starts out pretty nuts and just runs from there. I LOVED it.
As wild as the plot gets, this book has heart. I ended my read with some unexpectedly conflicting feelings. On one hand, wow. Life Support excels at shock value and horror. On the other hand, this book gave me a lot to ponder about how I view mental illness. For a work of fiction, Life Support raises the very real question "how ill is too ill?" In other words, where is the line between over-normalizing pathology versus over-pathologizing variants in behavior and perception? The characters blur the line in a way I haven't seen before.
Heads up, this book includes a list of content warnings at the beginning: Violence, death, suicidal ideation, dismemberment, incidental cannibalism, altered mental states/ mental health crises, drug and alcohol misuse, sexual assault, self-harm, institutional abuse, implied homophobia.
Thank you so much for the chance to check out this ARC for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.
Look, I'm no stranger to crazy horror plot twists...but Life Support blindsided me so many times. This book starts out pretty nuts and just runs from there. I LOVED it.
As wild as the plot gets, this book has heart. I ended my read with some unexpectedly conflicting feelings. On one hand, wow. Life Support excels at shock value and horror. On the other hand, this book gave me a lot to ponder about how I view mental illness. For a work of fiction, Life Support raises the very real question "how ill is too ill?" In other words, where is the line between over-normalizing pathology versus over-pathologizing variants in behavior and perception? The characters blur the line in a way I haven't seen before.
Heads up, this book includes a list of content warnings at the beginning: Violence, death, suicidal ideation, dismemberment, incidental cannibalism, altered mental states/ mental health crises, drug and alcohol misuse, sexual assault, self-harm, institutional abuse, implied homophobia.
Thank you so much for the chance to check out this ARC for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Cursing, Gore, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Rape, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Self harm and Suicide
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