Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The September House by Carissa Orlando

146 reviews

larareads's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Self harm and Suicide

togglesmcbobbins's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

There are things I really liked about this one and things I really didn't like about this one. 

I liked the unique take on a classic haunted house.

I liked the undertone of it being a metaphor for being in an abusive relationship and how hard it is to leave that world

. I love how creepy it was (seriously, I regret reading the end in bed at night).

I also really love Fredrika. 

I absolutely hated the daughter because she had no depth.

It was hot-headeda cursing and yelling the whole time with no lows, just highs. The way she treated her mom and her constant attitude towards everything was exhausting.

I also understand that the mom's denial and lies to hide the goings-on in the house were part of the aforementioned abuse metaphor. HOWEVER, it was overdone to the point of not being believable. This made the end feel frustrating and messy when she finally began to tell the truth rather than satisfying.

Overall, a fun book, but not a repeat read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

kirsty_irwin's review

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? N/A

4.5

Gory and wholesome all at once. This book gives Beetlejuice and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children vibes, while also being a fast-paced thriller. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Self harm, Grief, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing

Minor: Alcoholism

sadiereads72's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, and Cannibalism

kmesserl's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This was such a fun read to kick off spooky season. The September house can be summed up as a story about a woman who moves into a haunted house and, because she loves the house so much, decides to figure out how to coexist with the ghosts who live there. She develops a set of rules for existing within the house which include everything from keeping the basement boarded up to digging up the bones in a backyard grave to quell the tantrums of a young boy ghost named Elias. Everything is going ‘well’ until our mfc’s daughter declares she’s coming to the house because she hasn’t heard from her dad in too long. Margaret, our mfc, then has to figure out how to keep her daughter safe in this house during the most paranormally active time of the year, September. 

What made this read so fun for me was how the author kept me in suspense the entire time about whether this was real or a figment of Margaret’s imagination. I literally went back and forth throughout the whole story about whether Margaret was a reliable narrator or not. You have a solid answer by the end, and I found it to be a very satisfying ending!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit

atleastelise's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Whooweee! Family trauma! Haunted Houses! What more can you ask for. 

Thought this was a bit slow and repetitive to start but overall really enjoyable. 👻 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Child abuse

ravenpuff's review

emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Self harm, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Vomit and Death of parent

rachelisreading91's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

dubiousbunny's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, and Blood

blackeyedraptor's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

4.75

I love the author's style in this book! Her style was so simple and straightforward, her characters are well fleshed out, and her ratio of backstory mixed with current story was just perfect. 

It's a great book for anyone who loves a classic haunted house, spooky story. The house is always haunted, but in September, the house goes haywire. 

My only complaint: why did the ghosts wait for the protagonist to take down the antagonist? They could have very easily all taken him down long before the protagonist showed up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Cannibalism