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waytoomanybooks's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
This book is totally out of my wheelhouse, but I'm so glad I gave it a chance! It's a fast, fun read, but you should definitely check out trigger/content warnings before reading as the book can get fairly graphic in its depiction of gruesome imagery. If you like Stranger Things, you'll like this book.
Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Sexual violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Toxic friendship
nikenacs's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Not the biggest fan of this in the beginning, but it really won me over in the end. A tad too YA for my taste, but that's a me problem. Had I read this in my teenage years, I would have been absolutely /obsessed/.
The strong part of this book is definitely the finale, or generally everything that takes place after the hospital. This is where everything that has been laid out before really pays off. The main strong point of the book is that Sutherland is fantastic at describing surroundings, smells, sounds, sensations, all her horrors feel very tangible. The mix between strange natural beauty and body horror worked very well.
Unfortunately, this strongly descriptive style also felt like one of the main downsides to me. The book is VERY Tell, Don't Show, and I felt like very obvious things were being spelled out for me again and again. I could see most plot points/twists coming a mile away. Maybe this is a YA thing, though, and I really am just a little too old already. The pacing was odd in some places as well.
Overall, it didn't wow me, but it was pretty good. I probably wouldn't have stuck with it if it hadn't been for the book club, but I'm glad I did.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Vomit, Death, Violence, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Rape
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol
kt2e56's review against another edition
- 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
Very much looking forward to reading more from her.
Graphic: Death, Rape, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Child death, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Stalking, Suicide, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Vomit
abbiemreads's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Suicide, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Child death, and Body horror
Moderate: Vomit, Grief, and Blood
mcdal's review
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Vomit, Body horror, and Child death
Moderate: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicidal thoughts
I know I put vomit in the content warnings but please for the love of god, if you have emetophobia, enter this book with great caution or not at all cause there is A LOT of vomitemily_mh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, Death, Vomit, and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Stalking, Drug use, Suicide, Child abuse, Cursing, Body horror, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Violence, Child death, Kidnapping, Grief, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Misogyny, Animal death, Pedophilia, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Car accident, Excrement, Physical abuse, Bullying, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Self harm, Sexism, Mental illness, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence
HP reference. Moderate warnings for loss of a loved one, missing child, drowning, self injury, insects. Minor warnings for stillbirth, internalised misogyny.leaf_arrow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Suicide, Grief, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical content, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Bullying, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Addiction, and Abandonment
ghostlyprince's review
- 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
1.0
Graphic: Suicide, Child death, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Trafficking, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Addiction, Misogyny, Murder, and Alcoholism
Minor: Infertility and Infidelity
thekiwibibliophile's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gore, Child death, and Body horror
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Death of parent
lynnrahm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
not what i thought it’d be. but then again what did i expect? stephen-king-kinda thriller? well...yes.
reading the synopsis that is what i thought it would be like. but nope. its like those dark stories parents read their kids to sleep.
hush! my darling. if you don’t close your eyes gray hollow would come and skin you alive. then wear your skin and enter your world and live with us. as our child. you’d be dead. so sleep.
oops! i think i spoiled the whole book!
but the writing was very beautiful with a lot of twist and turns and creepy little flowers growing out of the main character’s gut (literally)
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Sexual violence, and Vomit