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hannahfred's review against another edition
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Transphobia
kelseyr713's review against another edition
dark
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? Yes
Author doesn’t attempt to hide his vile politics and the writing is not on the level of an adult novel. Also, for a book that’s marketed as horror, it’s not scary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Transphobia, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Fatphobia, Infertility, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Gun violence, Police brutality, and Dementia
inkdrinkers's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have so many thoughts about this book so bare with me if you're reading this review. I'm going to organize them as best as humanly possible. I went into Hidden Pictures knowing nothing - I didn't know the plot, I didn't know the content warnings, and I didn't know the author.
There will be mild spoilers below.
Hidden Pictures is focused on Mallory Quinn, a recently recovered drug addict who lands a nanny job with an affluent family to watch their shy son, Teddy. After she takes the job she begins to realize that something strange is occurring around the house and in the cottage where she lives on the property. She then learns that there is a ghost story central to the cottage and an artist was murdered there.
Let be start by saying I love thrillers with a hint of paranormal. If you don't like this, this book is NOT for you. This book is not for anyone who likes thrillers to have a realistic and entirely human end.
Now that is out of the way: I really enjoyed the plot twists for what they were. I listened to the audiobook and had no idea that Teddy's illustrations are actually featured throughout the novel. I think this made it better because I could form my own opinions and imagine what in the hell was going on. When I was certain I understood where the story was going, it would pivot back to the supernatural element and make me question whether or not I was sure of my firm decision.
Heavy spoilers below, do not read if you don't want to be spoiled.
I recognized the warning signs early on with the hints dropped about Teddy's identity. I have to admit I was a little hesitant to jump to that because the paranormal element really made me question. Once the end of the book finally reveals Teddy is actually Flora and was kidnapped as a toddler, I wasn't sure what kind of ride I was about to end this book on.
I completely understand the comments by some that this book has its issues with racism, transphobia, and fatphobia/body shaming. But to me, all the characters felt very human. They were not individuals without flaws and each time any of the above were mentioned were in full awareness that the character mentioning them was unreliable, imperfect, and had many biases.
Racism: the background of the plot deals with a woman running away to marry a black man in the 1940s. She has a loving life with him, children, and it turns out she was never murdered in the cottage. Her racist brother made up the story so he didn't have to admit to his white friends that his sister ran off with a black man. The main character, Mallory, also has a relationship with Adrian, the rich son of a landscaping company owner who lives in the neighborhood and is Latino. The neighbor, Mitzi, makes racist comments about him but it's confirmed she is oftentimes using drugs and is an incredibly isolated individual (she watches only Fox News, has no relatives, and reads tarot cards for a living in her home for her job).
Transphobia: The Maxwell's child in the story is Teddy/Flora. For ease, I'm going to refer to them as they/them and Teddy in this section. I'll also provide as much context as I can for anyone reading this to make their own conclusions. Teddy was kidnapped by Caroline Maxwell as a toddler after Caroline decided she was tired of having infertility issues and wanted a child (out of boredom/grief). Teddy, born Flora, is then smuggled away from the scene of the crime (of their mother being murdered by Caroline) by Caroline dressing them up as a boy, cutting their hair, and then whisking them away to a farm in Virginia, where Caroline spends a year brainwashing Teddy into believing they are the Maxwell's child. I completely understand how some can view this entire plotline as transphobic, but there is never a single mention of anyone questioning Teddy's identity and Mallory makes a statement multiple times saying she doesn't care what identity Teddy uses, only that they're safe. Teddy is five at the beginning of the novel and six by the time the epilogue/one year later takes place where they are going by Flora and using she/her pronouns again. It's indicated that the entire plot of Teddy being forced to live as a boy was to hide them from the authorities and, in a very sick way, give the Maxwells the son they always wanted. I feel like I can't make a full comment on this, as I'm cis. The end chapter seems to indicate Teddy is just trying to exist and have a normal childhood after a very traumatic three years of being kidnapped, haunted by a ghost, and isolated.
(I will add that Harry Potter and JK Rowling are mentioned twice, quite randomly at the end?? Which threw me for a loop because the comments are very strange. In one, Mallory offers her copy of the Sorcerer's Stone for Caroline to read. The last reference is Mallory discussing that she's not a great writer and can't write a full book like "JK Rowling" - I took this to mean this was her baseline of "popular" authors because it's mentioned she doesn't read, she likes to watch Halmark movies, and she converted to Christianity after recovering from addiction. The entire novel is actually written as Mallory writing down the story of the haunting and crime for Teddy to read later)
Fatphobia/Body Shaming: It is presented to us that Mallory was a track star in high school and takes pride in her health now that she's been recovered for 19 months. In various character descriptions, if a character is fat they will almost always be referred to as lazy or neglectful. This WAS a hard thing to listen to over and over. Mallory's mother is only redeemed at the end after she loses weight and becomes a runner. Mitzi is old, fat, crazy, and a drug addict (according to many characters). There is a detective at the end that is mentioned to be plus size but she serves as a way to prove Mallory's innocence and no morality is assigned to her body type. I feel like I can comment on this, as a fat individua - and while grossly uncomfortable, it did give me a reason to dislike Mallory as a narrator and think she was unreliable because I didn't enjoy her line of thinking. It had me questioning if I was on her side truly or if she was making things up in her head.
Overall, I don't think I can give this five stars. I think it doesn't deserve that, though it was an incredibly wild read from start to finish. I think my only fair assessment is that it's a three star and truly middle of the road book that had really interesting moments and elements too clouded by a messy plot. I almost leaned towards a two star, but I really loved the supernatural element to the story, the kidnapping twist, and the unreliable characters from all sides. Overall it needed far more clarity from sensitivity readers and a fine toothed comb to help untangle the political, social, and economical commentaries on classicism, racism, and identity. As it stands, I have no idea what the true point of the novel was, nor any of the commentary that the author was trying to make.
There will be mild spoilers below.
Hidden Pictures is focused on Mallory Quinn, a recently recovered drug addict who lands a nanny job with an affluent family to watch their shy son, Teddy. After she takes the job she begins to realize that something strange is occurring around the house and in the cottage where she lives on the property. She then learns that there is a ghost story central to the cottage and an artist was murdered there.
Let be start by saying I love thrillers with a hint of paranormal. If you don't like this, this book is NOT for you. This book is not for anyone who likes thrillers to have a realistic and entirely human end.
Now that is out of the way: I really enjoyed the plot twists for what they were. I listened to the audiobook and had no idea that Teddy's illustrations are actually featured throughout the novel. I think this made it better because I could form my own opinions and imagine what in the hell was going on. When I was certain I understood where the story was going, it would pivot back to the supernatural element and make me question whether or not I was sure of my firm decision.
Heavy spoilers below, do not read if you don't want to be spoiled.
I completely understand the comments by some that this book has its issues with racism, transphobia, and fatphobia/body shaming. But to me, all the characters felt very human. They were not individuals without flaws and each time any of the above were mentioned were in full awareness that the character mentioning them was unreliable, imperfect, and had many biases.
Racism: the background of the plot deals with a woman running away to marry a black man in the 1940s. She has a loving life with him, children, and it turns out she was never murdered in the cottage. Her racist brother made up the story so he didn't have to admit to his white friends that his sister ran off with a black man. The main character, Mallory, also has a relationship with Adrian, the rich son of a landscaping company owner who lives in the neighborhood and is Latino. The neighbor, Mitzi, makes racist comments about him but it's confirmed she is oftentimes using drugs and is an incredibly isolated individual (she watches only Fox News, has no relatives, and reads tarot cards for a living in her home for her job).
Transphobia: The Maxwell's child in the story is Teddy/Flora. For ease, I'm going to refer to them as they/them and Teddy in this section. I'll also provide as much context as I can for anyone reading this to make their own conclusions. Teddy was kidnapped by Caroline Maxwell as a toddler after Caroline decided she was tired of having infertility issues and wanted a child (out of boredom/grief). Teddy, born Flora, is then smuggled away from the scene of the crime (of their mother being murdered by Caroline) by Caroline dressing them up as a boy, cutting their hair, and then whisking them away to a farm in Virginia, where Caroline spends a year brainwashing Teddy into believing they are the Maxwell's child. I completely understand how some can view this entire plotline as transphobic, but there is never a single mention of anyone questioning Teddy's identity and Mallory makes a statement multiple times saying she doesn't care what identity Teddy uses, only that they're safe. Teddy is five at the beginning of the novel and six by the time the epilogue/one year later takes place where they are going by Flora and using she/her pronouns again. It's indicated that the entire plot of Teddy being forced to live as a boy was to hide them from the authorities and, in a very sick way, give the Maxwells the son they always wanted. I feel like I can't make a full comment on this, as I'm cis. The end chapter seems to indicate Teddy is just trying to exist and have a normal childhood after a very traumatic three years of being kidnapped, haunted by a ghost, and isolated.
(I will add that Harry Potter and JK Rowling are mentioned twice, quite randomly at the end?? Which threw me for a loop because the comments are very strange. In one, Mallory offers her copy of the Sorcerer's Stone for Caroline to read. The last reference is Mallory discussing that she's not a great writer and can't write a full book like "JK Rowling" - I took this to mean this was her baseline of "popular" authors because it's mentioned she doesn't read, she likes to watch Halmark movies, and she converted to Christianity after recovering from addiction. The entire novel is actually written as Mallory writing down the story of the haunting and crime for Teddy to read later)
Fatphobia/Body Shaming: It is presented to us that Mallory was a track star in high school and takes pride in her health now that she's been recovered for 19 months. In various character descriptions, if a character is fat they will almost always be referred to as lazy or neglectful. This WAS a hard thing to listen to over and over. Mallory's mother is only redeemed at the end after she loses weight and becomes a runner. Mitzi is old, fat, crazy, and a drug addict (according to many characters). There is a detective at the end that is mentioned to be plus size but she serves as a way to prove Mallory's innocence and no morality is assigned to her body type. I feel like I can comment on this, as a fat individua - and while grossly uncomfortable, it did give me a reason to dislike Mallory as a narrator and think she was unreliable because I didn't enjoy her line of thinking. It had me questioning if I was on her side truly or if she was making things up in her head.
Overall, I don't think I can give this five stars. I think it doesn't deserve that, though it was an incredibly wild read from start to finish. I think my only fair assessment is that it's a three star and truly middle of the road book that had really interesting moments and elements too clouded by a messy plot. I almost leaned towards a two star, but I really loved the supernatural element to the story, the kidnapping twist, and the unreliable characters from all sides. Overall it needed far more clarity from sensitivity readers and a fine toothed comb to help untangle the political, social, and economical commentaries on classicism, racism, and identity. As it stands, I have no idea what the true point of the novel was, nor any of the commentary that the author was trying to make.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Infertility, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Gun violence
The only thing not mentioned in my review is that the husband, Ted, sexually harassed Mallory multiple times. I just don't have the energy to type out my thoughts on that sack of crap.blouviere4's review against another edition
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Infertility, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Racism and Dementia
anna_green_gables's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cursing, Infertility, and Racism
chaptersbydani's review against another edition
1.5
Right-wing thriller— which was super disappointing. A lot of racism with an extra dose of transphobia.
Only reason why it’s not a 1 star is because I appreciated the experimental format of the book. The illustrations were really cool and enhanced the story. And it’s something I’ve not seen done before.
Only reason why it’s not a 1 star is because I appreciated the experimental format of the book. The illustrations were really cool and enhanced the story. And it’s something I’ve not seen done before.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Racism, Transphobia, Violence, and Gaslighting
1auren's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I had high expectations after seeing this recommended over and over but it fell short for me big time. The twist was completely unbelievable, all over the place and left a good amount of unanswered questions. I also never got a sense of the "horror" aspect people had been describing.
Another thing that bothered me was the random racist comments made by Mitzi, for seemingly no reason as it was never brought up again in the plot. That gave me a sour taste for the rest of the book.
Another thing that bothered me was the random racist comments made by Mitzi, for seemingly no reason as it was never brought up again in the plot. That gave me a sour taste for the rest of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Transphobia
dogearedbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Horror Lite? It isn't really horror but like a supernatural thriller.
The drawings were amazing, the writing is straight forward and quick paced. It drags a bit in the center and then goes crazy.
Spoiler Alert Again
The first twist is that Teddy is female. When Mallory finds out she says "Why didn't you tell me Teddy was a girl" And then the parents claim he is transgender. He is not, Flora (Teddy) was actually kidnapped by them and they forced him to pretend to be a boy. They say they didn't mention it because Mallory is religious. Mallory realizes that the kid loves lavander, doesn't want to play with other little boys and dislikes hair being cut. All things which...aren't tied to gender? or sex. Like it isn't done well. A trope that needs to be thrown in the trash.
(I am trans myself by the way)
Also I think the author hates atheists? Or like doesn't think they believe in anything except science. Also itt was weird, the amount of thrown in things about immigrants, religion, ect.
There are other weird things in this book that bother me but this ending was like...what.
The drawings were amazing, the writing is straight forward and quick paced. It drags a bit in the center and then goes crazy.
Spoiler Alert Again
(I am trans myself by the way)
Also I think the author hates atheists? Or like doesn't think they believe in anything except science. Also itt was weird, the amount of thrown in things about immigrants, religion, ect.
There are other weird things in this book that bother me but this ending was like...what.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Racism
moiralyle's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Gore, Infidelity, Racism, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Infertility, and Sexual content
dalmavatai's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Ahhh it's so hard to rate this book & to explain my feelings about it. This book starts off pretty basic with some oft-repeated plot points of the thriller/mystery genre - the trope of the addict nanny who's not believed, the father in the family attracted to the nanny, the handsome local guy piquing the nanny's interest. I really enjoy the nanny-in-the-rich-family and the creepy-kid/creepy-drawings trope so I did like the setup, though it became quite formulaic as the story went on. I did overall enjoy the conclusion to the story because it was definitely something I didn't see coming and it was really interesting, especially how our MC figured out the truth, I really enjoyed the process of getting there.
However... while this book attempts some very basic commentary on racism and sexism, it simultaneously ends up being ableist, fatphobic and transphobic at times, none of which is challenged. The transphobia is especially concerning as it ends up being a larger portion of the book than the other things that are mostly just throwaway comments and remarks. At one point, the transphobia of the MC is challenged, but then the book uses a trope that is very cisheteronormative - and if you don't understand why, it is because our MC assumes Teddy to be a girl as soon as she sees that s/he has a vulva; however, obviously not all people with a vulva are women, such as trans women, and womanhood itself is not rooted in the possession of a vulva. This is the MC's rather transphobic assumption which is then challenged by Ted, but then it turns out that Teddy is *actually* a girl named Flora who was kidnapped by Ted and Caroline and made to live as a boy so that Flora wouldn't be found. I just... don't know how to feel about this plot point. Especially that at the end, Flora goes back to being a girl (after being allowed to explore all options with regards to their gender identity - or so we're led to believe, because really our society is deeply cisheteronormative which means that, according to psychological studies, even when parents believe they are raising their children in a 'gender-neutral' way, they are subconsciously encouraging gender-normative behaviors that falsely link genitalia, appearance, and behavior in a correlative manner - so, if you have a penis then you're a boy and you will dress like a boy and like things that boys like). So Flora "goes back to being a girl" at which point our MC says "I think she's always known that she was a girl", which is not challenged either, so we're left with very cisheteronormative understandings of gender which believe in an intrinsic correlation between genitalia, appearance/clothing and behavior. Sooo it's quite complex but I wanted to justify why I felt the way that I did with where this book went.
The other thing is that a specific nationality becomes an important plot point towards the end of the book, and as a person with that nationality, I feel compelled to tell you that many words, facts, and dishes were incorrect in the book and I wish that the author had done his homework regarding my nationality because I was really happy to see it in a book that I randomly picked up, but understandably less happy to discover that so many of the details were simply incorrect.
Sooo while I enjoyed most of this book and found the reveals satisfying and shocking, I have many issues with it otherwise. 🤐
However... while this book attempts some very basic commentary on racism and sexism, it simultaneously ends up being ableist, fatphobic and transphobic at times, none of which is challenged. The transphobia is especially concerning as it ends up being a larger portion of the book than the other things that are mostly just throwaway comments and remarks. At one point, the transphobia of the MC is challenged, but then the book uses a trope that is very cisheteronormative - and if you don't understand why,
The other thing is that a specific nationality becomes an important plot point towards the end of the book, and as a person with that nationality, I feel compelled to tell you that many words, facts, and dishes were incorrect in the book and I wish that the author had done his homework regarding my nationality because I was really happy to see it in a book that I randomly picked up, but understandably less happy to discover that so many of the details were simply incorrect.
Sooo while I enjoyed most of this book and found the reveals satisfying and shocking, I have many issues with it otherwise. 🤐
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, and Xenophobia