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kalypsowolf's review against another edition
dark
tense
3.75
I haven't read Frankenstein but I do know the general story and I think this is a really interesting interpretation. I can see the inspirations taken. Not to mention both the book and numerous Frankenstein movies are mentioned multiple times.
It's well known that psychiatric treatments in history have often been horrific and cruel. This book uses very real "treatments" that have been used at one point or another to really drive the horror of this book. The descriptions of the equipment and specimen jars can sometimes get a little uncomfortable, but it never really veers into the gruesome territory. I honestly kinda wish it did though, but that's just me.
There are certainly quite a few twists in this. I think how it handles information is one of the best things about this book. It lulls you into a false sense of security by feeding you just enough information for you to feel like it's obvious what the twist is going to be, only to subvert those expectations. But when things are revealed it doesn't feel entirely unbelievable either like a lot of thrillers do, though it does dip into getting a bit weird for a few pages there (which I'm not sure I love for this story in particular, kinda wish it either fully committed or didn't do it at all)
The writing is fine, but with a setting like this I really think it could have leant more into the atmosphere of it all. I imagine it didn't do that just to save on time and pages, but if done right I think it could have really elevated the story.
There are a few scenes where I'm just...unsure if they served a purpose? They kinda felt like maybe they were leading to something, but it never pays off and what the book actually ends up doing would have had the exact same impact even without those scenes.
In terms of the ending, I'm kinda loving where it went. It was what I can only describe as darkly wholesome.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma
crabbytaco's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma and Torture
Moderate: Confinement and Death of parent
Minor: Mental illness
librarymouse's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This was a really enjoyable and engaging read. It was eally well written, especially in how the storytelling explores how a story can be warped as it passes through multiple perspectives. Young Eric, Violet, and Iris are lovely and the pacing between the late 70s and late 2010s works really well. This is another one of those books, that while I know it's horror, it doesn't read as necessarily scary for me. The nuance of the characters was the driving force behind the book.
one thing that was Neve quite far enough explored was the kiss scene. I think it was meant to express Violet's impulsiveness seeping back through as she forsakes the medications she's being given and looks into what she thinks is Iris's past. That and the lure Violet feels towards Iris; the desire to know and be known. Just having that expressed through a kiss between characters referred to as sisters throughout the whole rest of the book was odd. Especially so when it was never brought up again. Violet having wished for a sister, and having that wish fulfilled is deeply unsettling, knowing their Gran had Eric keeping tabs on her and was using hypnosis on her. The ending of the book and the uncovering that Violet is patient S puts quite a lot of earlier events into perspective.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Grief, Violence, Gore, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Animal death, Physical abuse, Confinement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Death, Medical trauma, Body horror, Medical content, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness
Moderate: Addiction and Death of parent
Minor: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Ableism, and Incest
Also warning for eugenicsskysbooknook's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Car accident and Medical content
racheldallaire's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I really enjoyed this one. It kept me wondering what would happen and I was caught by surprise a few times. A great story with great characters. I'll be thinking about this one for awhile.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Child abuse, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Car accident and Murder
jmkendall0218's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, and Medical trauma
bookedfortheweekend25's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical trauma and Medical content
Minor: Murder and Animal cruelty
wrestleacademic's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Torture, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Brainwashinglilacs_book_bower's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
in the 1970s, Vi and her brother live with their brilliant psychiatrist grandmother, who brings home a new "sister" for them. Iris is mute and has injuries. Slowly she comes out of her shell and the children have a club where they imagine they will hunt monsters. In modern day, now as adults, one of the sisters is hunting the other one, who she suspects of being a serial killer. Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, it is pretty obvious which sister is the latter-day narrator, so the surprise falls flat. There are a couple of other twists that are pretty obvious. There is a fake out regarding the murdering sister that was nicely done, but then it is walked back. On one hand, I think the book needed that final punch, but on the other hand, I am not sure how I feel about it affecting the message of the book about people being the real monsters. If people are the real monsters (and Iris believes there are real supernatural monsters too), and you have to kill your monster to start over and live, aren't you also becoming a monster? Are we all just monsters? If so, doesn't that lessen the impact of the "real" monsters among us? Aren't we supposed to be able to rise above our upbringings? You could argue the grandmother created a monster in Vi, but Iris turned out more or less fine. As I said, I am ambivalent. I would have vastly preferred we spend more time with the adult sister. The story in the past kind of dragged on, since it was super obvious what was happening with both Iris and Vi. I was also hoping for more from the Mary Shelley angle, but oh well. This was a fine book and I enjoyed reading it, but I literally forgot I had even read it two days later, which is reflected in the rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Medical trauma, Torture, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism, Death of parent, Confinement, Death, Murder, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Mental illness
readrienne's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- 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 book is fine but it’s more YA than I understood from the blurbs.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Child abuse, and Ableism
Moderate: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death