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c0rpsekat's review
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Grief, Lesbophobia, Body shaming, Death, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Body horror, Bullying, Sexism, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Drug use, and Drug abuse
oliviavm8's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Body horror, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
svarney23's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, and Violence
honeymoonleo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Murder, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Violence, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Death, and Animal death
kabrown28'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Murder, Lesbophobia, Animal death, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
lilbookbee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Bullying, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Murder, and Gore
Minor: Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
cjblates's review
- 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
Graphic: Sexual assault and Child abuse
poisoned_icecream's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexual assault
Moderate: Animal death
raychelbennet'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
3.0
The plot and the message of this book are really powerful. Kristi DeMeester really masterfully handles feminine horror in a patriarchal society. Every event is related to what a woman should do, how they should act, and their position in society. It focuses heavily on both the internal thoughts of girls/women and how they are forced to project themselves to the world. The use of the almost omnipresent Cur can be read as a physical manifestation of the patriarchy that wants to consume the inappropriate behaviors found in young girls. All of this is amazing, 5 stars, incredible.
Where things get difficult for me is the books' use of imagery depicting violence against animals and sexual violence. I am never a fan of violence against animals but I can skip over a scene if I feel it furthers the plot. The violence here I felt was *extremely* heavy-handed and drawn out longer than necessary. I get its purpose in the narrative but it made my stomach churn.
The discussion and depiction of sexual violence can be important—especially in books that deal with feminist themes. As someone who identifies as a radical feminist and who 100% agrees with the message that I feel this book was trying to portray already, maybe I just was not the target audience for this. I cannot comfortably read books with scenes of sexual violence where I cannot skip them. In Such A Pretty Smile, the sexual violence that occurs is fully entwined in other events that would leave important plot points out if it is not read. This put me in an uncomfortable and potentially unsafe situation and I think that could be true for other readers. Additionally, the language described—while not the worst or the most graphic I’ve ever read—is almost overbearing. Again, maybe I was not the target audience because I did not need to see anything in a different light to understand DeMeester’s point.
Overall, I think this is an important book. I think it is a really important addition to the horror genre and Kristi DeMeester is going to definitely be an author to look out for. I just think this might benefit from a few content warnings, which I am trying to explain here.
Graphic: Mental illness, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Violence
word_wandering's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Murder