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kvtherine's review
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Blood
modernhobbitvibes's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Murder, Mental illness, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Blood, Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Kidnapping
haleybre's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Body horror, Confinement, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Death of parent, and Violence
full_kay's review against another edition
dark
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Mental illness
minimicropup's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
The Energy: Benevolent. Courageous. Sincere.
The Scene: 🇺🇸 The former mining town of Doubtful, Illinois, USA
The POVs: Four high school friends born and raised, plus the new kid who recently moved in with their police office father.
🎬 Tale-Telling: Cinematic scenes pulled me in and I could feel Doubtful’s gradual industrial decay and the friendship dynamics.
👥 Characters: The characters are the heart of the story and they felt relatable and real. Their individual backstories and the dynamics of their friend group added depth and suspense as they try to navigate the horrors and messes. At first I thought all their parents were conveniently out of the story but we learn why each of them has adults in their life that aren’t really wondering where they are, and some were sad reasons. My only issue was the characters felt more middle grade than high school senior, but I just read them that way and it worked.
🤓 Reader Role: We’re like a ghost hovering but privy to some thoughts and motivations. Jen worked as our eyes into the world since she’s the skeptic and asks the questions we are also wondering about.
🗺️ Ambiance: A blanket of atmospheric tension. Doubtful is a character too, depicted with such detail that I easily imagined it’s industrial, run-down charm. The supernatural quirks became kind of nostalgic (but still terrifying) and didn’t cross into campy. This story had a Stranger Things vibe to it.
🔥 Fuel: Who (or what) is the killer? How does the town's strangeness connect to the murders? The slow unraveling of these mysteries was punctuated by moments of horror, friendship, and the occasional flutter of young romance. I liked the suspense didn’t rely on bickering within the group. The last half of the story brings on the ‘feels’ horrors , so if you don’t care about the characters it may not work for you.
🚙 Journey: An engaging mix of horror and mystery, wrapped up in the authenticity of teenage life and the trials of growing up. The narrative takes its time to build up the suspense and lets you get fully invested in the characters before the real horrors kick in. The ending was rather convenient, but it wraps everything up with a touch of open-ended mystery.
----
🐕 Howls: The police and Jen’s dad’s laissez-faire attitude towards the danger children face took me out of the story a bit (just a bit).
🐩 Tail Wags: The blend of horror, mystery, and authentic teenage angst and logic. The characters and their backstories. The atmosphere and vibes.
----
Mood Reading Match-Up:
- Psychological grown-up Goosebumps with body horror and gore
- Monster or Man serial killer mystery
- Tight-knit what-would-you-do-for-your-friends feels (think Stranger Things style)
- Themes of friendship, community, coming of age, fate, free will, innocence, reality, dedication, character, fear, adversity, and empowerment.
Content Heads-Up: Body horror (mutilation, dismemberment). Missing child. Mental illness (paranoia, delusions, aggression). Parental neglect (emotional and physical). Loss of parents (in childhood). Loss of a sibling. Confinement (lost, trapped).
Rep: White and ambiguous Americans. EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome). Cisgender. Lesbian/queer.
👀 Format: Kindle
My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent
megandherbook's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? No
4.0
Darcy Coates is the queen of horror in my eyes. This is her first YA and I was so pleased that it was just as scary as many of her other books though it felt completely different than many of her books.
Abby Ward lives in a strange town where people randomly go missing regularly. Because of this the town doesn’t stray out after dark and Abby, her sister, Hope, and her group of friends have strict rules that they follow. The group of friends are dedicated to getting out of the town and learning as much about the mysterious villain they call the Stitcher (as the victims will reappear stitched together wrong with red thread) so they don’t become his (its?) next victim. But when Hope goes missing Abby is desperate to do everything she can to get her back and not have her be the Stitcher's next victim. With the help of her friends and a newcomer to the town she goes after her sister and uncovers just who (or what) the Stitcher is.
While this is such a dark and sad story in a dark and sad town I couldn’t help but love the characters. The group of friends all have unique qualities and personalities and their relationships with each other are heart warming. The townspeople are well written and the villains are absolutely creepy. My favorite part is trying to piece together if this is supernatural or just the work of a serial killer. Without giving anything away I can say there are some downright terrifying scenes. Between the group digging into the town’s history to the action packed scenes I was entertained throughout the whole thing.
Abby Ward lives in a strange town where people randomly go missing regularly. Because of this the town doesn’t stray out after dark and Abby, her sister, Hope, and her group of friends have strict rules that they follow. The group of friends are dedicated to getting out of the town and learning as much about the mysterious villain they call the Stitcher (as the victims will reappear stitched together wrong with red thread) so they don’t become his (its?) next victim. But when Hope goes missing Abby is desperate to do everything she can to get her back and not have her be the Stitcher's next victim. With the help of her friends and a newcomer to the town she goes after her sister and uncovers just who (or what) the Stitcher is.
While this is such a dark and sad story in a dark and sad town I couldn’t help but love the characters. The group of friends all have unique qualities and personalities and their relationships with each other are heart warming. The townspeople are well written and the villains are absolutely creepy. My favorite part is trying to piece together if this is supernatural or just the work of a serial killer. Without giving anything away I can say there are some downright terrifying scenes. Between the group digging into the town’s history to the action packed scenes I was entertained throughout the whole thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Grief, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness and Violence
tobydini's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Torture, Body horror, Confinement, Blood, Mental illness, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence, Animal death, and Stalking
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