Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Hidden Pictures: A Novel

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Hidden Pictures: A Novel by Jason Rekulak

47 reviews

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

This had potential, and I was really genuinely enjoying it until about the last 100 pages or so. There's really not much I can say about what I didn't like about this book with this review remaining spoiler free, but I'll try to be as cryptic as possible. It really guts me that this was a 5 star prediction lol

First though, I do want to bring up its merits, because I think that it has some.

Things I liked: It's set in a small town based on a real town that not only is near to where I live but that I've been to several times and it mentions several landmarks that are familiar to me. I also liked the illustration elements and how they get spookier and spookier as the book goes on.

Things I didn't like: Pretty much everything else but especially the big plot twist at the end. Absolutely the stupidest thing in the world. Made half of the book absolutely pointless. This could've been edited down to just 200 pages and it would've been better and not as much of a waste of time.

I only add the half a star because I have a soft spot for the small town that the book is based on.

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jesshart8's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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livvmarks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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emilycecilia's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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blackcatkai's review against another edition

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mysterious 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? Yes

1.5

started off strong, but lost all of it in the last third of the story. a lot of current issues buzzwords just tossed in with very little actual care taken on any of the topics, but mostly they just felt crammed in with very little reason or impact. is it demonizing science believers? demonizing spiritual/religious people? definitely constant fatphobic/body shaming sprinkled throughout.

it feels like the most care was taken in regards to drug use/addiction, but it still all felt off, somehow. the ending also feels very.....weird. you ever hear conspiracies that people are forcing children to think they're trans even though it's not true? well, if you actually agree with those conspiracies, then this book is for you! and also you're a horrible person, maybe get off the internet a bit & stop that.

yea, no. not a fan & I will not be reading from the author in the future. thank you.

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lindseyrenee's review against another edition

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fast-paced

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

1.0

Where to start with this? The story had potential to be really fun and at times I was wanting to know what was going to happen next, but every single character ruined this for me. They were all written as a caricature of what they should be. You have the ex druggie turned religious girl, the wacky neighbor who is paranoid from too much pot, the Hispanic landscaper, and the super scientific atheist parents. Not only was there fat shaming, but some shocking racist remarks, and transphobia that cannot be overlooked. Every single instance of those could have been deleted completely and it wouldn’t have changed anything about the story or the characters, they were just there to be there. Had those been removed I do think my rating would be different, however they weren’t and can’t be ignored.

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