Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

133 reviews

spearly's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I'm not gonna be adding much to my review that hasn't already been said.

The good:

Very atmospheric. I could see the school, the girls, the terror so clearly. I loved the queerness, I loved the mystery, the hopelessness.

I liked how different Hatty's and Byatt's POVs were. 

The iffy:

That ending. I'm so unsatisfied! We ~kind of~ get a clue as to what the Tox is, but no solution, no conclusion, no big reveal. The whole time I was waiting for the shoe to drop - the teachers are involved?? The Tox is manmade?? It's spread beyond the borders of the school?? There IS no world outside the borders?? But nothing. I was left feeling like I'd wasted my time with this one. Definitely not the horror it's labelled as.

Overall, not a book I'd recommend but not awful either. Just incomplete. 2.5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Death of parent, and Murder

farncc's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i cried near the end and i didn’t expect myself to, BUT i felt it could’ve been written a little better. plus that one scene is just too close to… something and i didn’t really enjoy that and there’s no content warnings for me to put on it so like :// idk 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Gaslighting

4ng3l4's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

The book had me hooked from the first page. Through it, I loved the characters, the atmosphere created and the plot, but when I got to the end of it, I felt very disappointed; it was too open and it didn't answer all my questions. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder

leetriestowrite's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

that book broke me in the best way possible. please look at the content warning i left before reading for your own safety there is a lot of

suicide in this book

but it is 100% a must read-! i loved it dearly and it is now one of my favorite books of all time-! <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

arieloley's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I absolutely loved this read!! I couldn’t put it down. My heart went out to all of the characters and I was genuinely invested and enthralled. The imagery and writing in general was incredibly realistic. I would’ve liked a bit more explanation about Byatt’s situation, about the Tox, and the end felt a little bit vague, but overall I loved it and would reread for sure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and Murder

theleppy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

keen's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Initially, I felt off about this book. It didn't feel like horror, it felt like a thriller. High-stakes and tense moments, but nothing scary past the graphic body horror. As a body horror fan, that was enough to keep me going, even if I wasn't sure I was reading a horror book.

It took me until halfway through to realize I went into this book with the wrong expectations. Not every horror story involves running away from a murderer or trying to escape the attention of a ghost. This is a story about being trapped in a bleak situation and trying to survive when everything is out to kill you. It's about the strength of love and friendship that powers you through every horror you face.

Once I realized that, the emotional horror of this book hit me. Every paragraph made me question if there was some ounce of hope in the end. I can say I was satisfied with what I received, even if in the end it felt like I had no idea where I was being led until I was punched in the gut.

Additionally, I enjoyed the characters. There were times when I was angry at them, wondering why the girls were behaving so irrationally and why the adults felt so unhelpful. I had to remind myself of what it would be like to be a 14 to 17 year old girl, trapped on an island with a virus twisting your body into a mockery of itself, with little to no hope of surviving. Alternatively, I had to imagine what it would be like to take care of these children and watch as they die off, one by one. There's no way I could react logically in either scenario. The characters did the best they could do in the situation they were forced into and trapped in.

I admire stories that make me read deeper into the thoughts of the characters. To me, a good horror story makes me compare how I would face each situation to how the characters do. In this case, every event made me want to throw up, run away, or cry.

So, yeah, this story gave me the emotional turmoil. I was joyfully horrified.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Kidnapping

Minor: Bullying and Cursing

ppixxie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I've been putting off reading this for the LONGEST time for no goddamn reason. Then my library hold(s) came in. Oh my GOD was I not disappointed. Going in, I thought there would be a lot more horror/body horror elements/cosmic horror-esque elements, which was probably why I found it hard to get into the first half of the book where it focuses mainly on world-building. (The beginning mainly reads like a dystopian survival horror?) 

But boy does it pick up. I love to read a nasty female character, and this is no exception. I can't talk about a lot of the stuff that happens, because it's spoilers and this book is a nice one to go into with 0 knowledge. It ends on an ambiguous note (almost a sequel hook, and I've heard whispers around that there's going to be a sequel or something??) but I liked how it ended, and I probably would have been satisfied with just this book as a standalone.

Anyways, if you like gay horror, definitely check this one out!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Eating disorder and Emotional abuse

Minor: Bullying and Cursing

caitlinattemptstoread's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

starccato's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, and Cursing