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grunbean's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I devoured this. This book is my flavour of weird, and I could not put it down. Woman’s wrongs, reality TV and commentary on society, lesbians, the Pacific Northwest, and a cryptid? Sign me up.
From the reviews I read I was expecting this to be pulpy. I can see that, but is this is pulp then it’s the best pulp I’ve ever read. I want more of this, which is my only complaint.
I don’t feel like I can describe my experience without spoilers. It might not be the weirdest out there, but it will take you for a wild ride. And, for me, the gore is VISCERAL.
From the reviews I read I was expecting this to be pulpy. I can see that, but is this is pulp then it’s the best pulp I’ve ever read. I want more of this, which is my only complaint.
I don’t feel like I can describe my experience without spoilers. It might not be the weirdest out there, but it will take you for a wild ride. And, for me, the gore is VISCERAL.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Biphobia, and Homophobia
cmboyke's review
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
4.75
This was the perfect thrill ride to pull me out of my reading slump. Once I started, it was difficult not to read the rest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Classism, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Bullying, Colonisation, Sexism, Violence, Gore, Homophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Death, Car accident, Murder, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Self harm, Ableism, Drug use, Kidnapping, Abortion, Biphobia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Racism, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
eliya's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I had a whole review written out yesterday and I didn’t save it and now it’s gone 😪
It took me about a month to read this pretty short book lol. 13 hours of reading time.
Loved the “weird” nature of the book, combining two loved genres, the snide remarks the characters make about each other. There are some good quotes from this book that I’ll be listing below. I don’t think you’re supposed to like any character and I definitely didn’t lol. Loved the physical descriptions the author used to describe feelings.
Did not love the writing style. The author focused a lot on scene dressing and filled most of the book with painful, needless details and empty attempts to develop internal dialogue between the different characters.
I think Casey was spot-on- Amanda and Vanessa were the same character, one just had two moms and talked mostly about how that shaped her vs the other one who wanted to fuck Jeremy so much. Lilah Mae was a caricature of the toxic Christian trope & Renee… I’m conflicted about Renee. She was a curmudgeon the whole book, understandably so, but I don't find valor in just being a hater.
In the author’s note, the author talks about how it took courage to write this “weird” book, but it truly was not weird enough.
I had a lot of hopes for this book, but all in all, it was: boring, boring, cringy and unbelievable, funny, boring, until 80% through, then it was really exciting!! Where was that the whole rest of the book?
Favorite quotes out of context -
“For Alexa, the knife in my heart”
“But that was the point, wasn’t it? To be reminded.”
“Some pretzel bags are prettier than others…”
"But she's trying to stop searching for herself in the eyes of others"
"Standing over her like a gangly teenager about to ask his mom for lunch money"
"He tasted minty and yet somehow still disgusting, like Altoids that had been scraped off of the floor of the car."
"She imagines what it would be like to have a brain unburdened by intelligence--and then Vanessa's..."
"Casey didn't finish; she wasn't expecting to"
"It seems like the sort of place where you could actually just live life, instead of researching the best way to live your life on the internet."
It took me about a month to read this pretty short book lol. 13 hours of reading time.
Loved the “weird” nature of the book, combining two loved genres, the snide remarks the characters make about each other. There are some good quotes from this book that I’ll be listing below. I don’t think you’re supposed to like any character and I definitely didn’t lol. Loved the physical descriptions the author used to describe feelings.
Did not love the writing style. The author focused a lot on scene dressing and filled most of the book with painful, needless details and empty attempts to develop internal dialogue between the different characters.
In the author’s note, the author talks about how it took courage to write this “weird” book, but it truly was not weird enough.
I had a lot of hopes for this book, but all in all, it was: boring, boring, cringy and unbelievable, funny, boring, until 80% through, then it was really exciting!! Where was that the whole rest of the book?
Favorite quotes out of context -
“For Alexa, the knife in my heart”
“But that was the point, wasn’t it? To be reminded.”
“Some pretzel bags are prettier than others…”
"But she's trying to stop searching for herself in the eyes of others"
"Standing over her like a gangly teenager about to ask his mom for lunch money"
"He tasted minty and yet somehow still disgusting, like Altoids that had been scraped off of the floor of the car."
"She imagines what it would be like to have a brain unburdened by intelligence--and then Vanessa's..."
"Casey didn't finish; she wasn't expecting to"
"It seems like the sort of place where you could actually just live life, instead of researching the best way to live your life on the internet."
"Leafless trees poking out through the cracks between them, like arms worn down to their sinews reaching up to be fed."
"Nothing but silence and sky. It feels like the end of the world."
" 'Maybe you would have rather gone home with Amanda?! ... You kissed her way better than you ever kissed me!' 'That's because you taste like unwashed asshole, Jeremy' "
"...barely notice it at first, is a fresh human head, detached from a body that is nowhere to be found. Her hair tied in a ponytail, her expression frozen in shock, a layer of blood caking on pale skin. 'Hi, Amanda,' Renee says, looking down at the head. Amanda doesn't speak back, because she's a disembodied head. Alas, poor Amanda."
"Nothing but silence and sky. It feels like the end of the world."
"...barely notice it at first, is a fresh human head, detached from a body that is nowhere to be found. Her hair tied in a ponytail, her expression frozen in shock, a layer of blood caking on pale skin. 'Hi, Amanda,' Renee says, looking down at the head. Amanda doesn't speak back, because she's a disembodied head. Alas, poor Amanda."
New words:
Indefatigable - Persisting tirelessly.
Eponymous -
Indefatigable - Persisting tirelessly.
Eponymous -
- (of a person) giving their name to something.
- "the eponymous hero of the novel"
- (of a thing) named after a particular person.
- "Roseanne's eponymous hit TV series"
Adroit - clever or skillful in using the hands or mind. "he was adroit at tax avoidance"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Blood, Death, Violence, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Cancer, and Abortion
Minor: Racism, Fatphobia, and Grief
miranda_coward03's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Animal cruelty
hannahpings's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
picked up patricia because i wanted to read the book the cover blurbs were raving about. i still want to read that book. this is not that book.
self-indulgent and dragging first and second acts are so caught up in the characters, complexes, and institutions they're lampooning that they end up almost as vapid and certainly as weightless. satire requires clarity of purpose and target etc etc
was originally going to give this a 2.5, but a satisfying—if unearned, and unsubstantiated—third act brought it up a bit.
ultimately, i can't help but feel like this is a book that's begging to get picked up for a movie deal, which would probably be the best fate for it. it'd certainly make a better (clearer, better constructed, more precise) movie than it does a novel.
self-indulgent and dragging first and second acts are so caught up in the characters, complexes, and institutions they're lampooning that they end up almost as vapid and certainly as weightless. satire requires clarity of purpose and target etc etc
was originally going to give this a 2.5, but a satisfying—if unearned, and unsubstantiated—third act brought it up a bit.
ultimately, i can't help but feel like this is a book that's begging to get picked up for a movie deal, which would probably be the best fate for it. it'd certainly make a better (clearer, better constructed, more precise) movie than it does a novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Addiction, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Violence, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Abortion
Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
gruhuken's review
dark
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really love this kind of horror. I had a lot of fun reading this; the humour was pretty funny, it had a few really scary moments and the ending was surprisingly sweet. It felt a little too short, I wanted to know way more about the strange main character (what the hell was she even doing on the dating show to begin with??). The second half is where it becomes a slasher but I also felt that went by far too quickly, as if it was trying to get the characters out of the way rather than giving time to breathe within kills. A lot of questions, especially about the members of the island group, went unanswered in a way that didn't satisfy me. Would recommend this though, if not just for a quick, weird and funny queer read about. Found family? And sasquatches.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Car accident, Death, Murder, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Alcoholism, Bullying, Grief, and Gun violence
Minor: Abortion, Kidnapping, Cancer, Sexual content, Racism, and Animal cruelty
Strong descriptions of violence, body mutilation and murder committed by a sasquatch creature. A character is grieving the death of her wife from cancer (this is mentioned in the beginning of the book). Some minor misogyny and racism towards the main character from a shitty guy, and some mild homophobia from a religious character. One mention of the D slur. Another character is mentioned multiple times to have alcohol problems. The main warning I would give is the gore: although the book retains a playful and comedic tone, there's a lot of dismemberment and bludgeoning
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