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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
This is a crazy book told by the daughter of the owner of a traveling carnival. Fed up by the demands of the fat lady, he decides to breed his own freaks by exposing his (willing) wife to a variety of drugs and radiation during pregnancy. It's very out there and immoral, but it works well and I enjoyed it.
This book is f***ed up in the best possible way. I could not predict where it was going and I could not stop reading. Now I can't stop thinking about it.
The title of this book is a bit misleading; it's not the story of an AP student's high school romances, but rather a wild tale of incest, circus performers, power-craze, and the intentional use of drugs while pregnant in order to genetically manipulate offspring. The characters (maybe excepting Chick and Miranda) were all wholly unlikable, but the story was well-written [although Dunn relies heavily on the word "loll," which is one of my top 5 least favorite words]. It is a super-disturbing work of fiction from the get-go, but things take a turn for the batshit crazy starting at the Pen Pals chapter. The Miss Lick subplot didn't really do it for me, although I appreciated the nonlinear approach to storytelling. 2.5 stars.
dark
medium-paced
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fascinating story, unlike anything I’ve ever read. Endlessly entertaining and kept me wanting to know what had happened, was happening, and was going to happen. The time hopping was set up perfectly. Such an original idea for a story, too. And so raw and unapologetic with its vulgarity and reality in regards to humanity.