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jhbandcats's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
I see that a lot of people have said the book was character-driven. I felt Vera was such an unreliable narrator that I couldn’t trust any personality or character she presented. I therefore felt the plot was more important.
I was so-so on the book till that wild ending. It was so over the top that it ruined what had come before. I felt the strongest parts were about the peephole, Vera’s relationship with her father, and the mystery of how much her father knew / approved of her using the peephole. I felt the supernatural parts were the weakest and I found James the artist to be more of an annoying diversion than anything really integral to the story.
Minor quibbles re editing: there is a lot of emphasis on there being no locks on the bedroom and bathroom doors but there’s a comment, “The door was locked.” It’s also clear that it’s the middle of a hot and humid summer, but the A/C is on high making it cold inside. Vera says, “I would have turned the heat up….” The artist lives in the shed some distance from the house yet he tells Vera, “I hear you in the night sometimes.” Finally, I got really tired of the phrase, ”the house her father had built.”
I am really sorry I didn’t like this because I’ve read almost all Gailey’s books and have enjoyed them all.
Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Abandonment, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Torture, Gaslighting, Vomit, Chronic illness, Confinement, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
micallab's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Violence, Death, Blood, Physical abuse, Murder, Vomit, and Torture
goose's review
3.75
Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Minor: Vomit
sakeriver's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Gore, and Body horror
Moderate: Kidnapping and Torture
librarymouse's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
There are still so many questions I want answered, and I would have loved to know the contents of Vera's dad's letters.
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Murder, Body horror, Death, Gore, Medical trauma, Blood, and Vomit
Moderate: Confinement
fivefingerfrankenstein's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The story did a good job of bringing you along for the ride in Vera's headspace, made you sympathetic to her perspective, and then snapped you back to reality at the end to show exactly what you'd been sympathizing with. And it demonized the mother without making her some inhuman monster. She was just shitty in the way regular people are shitty.
Graphic: Child abuse, Vomit, Gore, Violence, and Body horror
There wasn't a good tag for this in the pre set tag list, but there is talk about the house that resembles sexual assault, but is not actually sexual assault since it's a house and not a person. But just like.... it's close enough language that it sort of bothered me and may bother others who are sensitive to it.stephanieluxton'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
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Torture, Confinement, Murder, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Gore
Minor: Child abuse and Vomit
renyoi's review
- 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
4.75
Aside from that, though, this work is a thrilling, grisly, appalling turn on the “haunted house” and “serial killer” genres of horror.
Graphic: Torture, Abandonment, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Child abuse, Mental illness, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
junowo's review
- 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
5.0
My one and only criticism is that the book isn’t particularly damning to the failures of the true crime community in a way that descriptions led me to believe. I struggle to tell if it would’ve fit into the book at all, though.
This was a great read around Halloween, playing well with both true crime style horror and supernatural horror.
Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Blood, Gore, Medical content, Self harm, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Murder, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Confinement, Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
eliya's review
- 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
sarah gailey’s writing is so incredibly intimate, a lot of reading this felt like guilt dripping down my back mixed with the cold nakedness of being alone with the words.
pg. 320:
“We didn’t ask to be born, did we? We did t ask to have to soak up their sings and their expectations. All we ever did was love them, and all they ever did was hurt us.”
…”He loved us, though,” … “more than anything.”
“Oh, he loved us both as best as he could,” … “He tried to build us strong and steady and whole. But he didn’t keep us safe. He didn’t know how to shelter us from all the hurt that was waiting, because he thought that hurt was the shape of love.”
Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Murder, Torture, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, and Child abuse
Minor: Vomit