Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Teddy by Jason Rekulak

110 reviews

markedwithanm's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Addiction, Car accident, Drug use, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Murder

kwashington's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Child death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Murder, Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, and Addiction

mary_josephine's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, Death of parent, Car accident, and Murder

incandescent_ink's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Murder

jennabeck13's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

Genre: Thriller

About 370 pages

Mallory Quinn is a recovering addict who has spent the past two years desperately trying to turn her life around. So when she gets the chance to be a live-in nanny for a picture-perfect family in a quaint New Jersey suburb, she is determined to excel in the position. She gets along great with Teddy, the young boy in the family, and the job seems to be going well. Until one day, she notices some of Teddy’s drawings are a bit disturbing. They show what looks to be a murder… Combining the drawings with a story she heard from a crazy neighbor, Mallory begins to wonder if the house is haunted and if a ghost is using Teddy to communicate its story. She’s not sure how to approach this with the parents as she worries they will think it’s related to her prior drug use, so she sets out independently to figure out what is going on.

WOW. THIS BOOK IS INSANE. I’ve had this on my shelf for a few months but was so nervous to read it because of all the good things I’d heard and was afraid it wouldn’t live up to my expectations, but holy cow, it exceeded them. I won’t go into details for fear of spoiling. But this book was chilling, twisted, and engaging from beginning to end. Rekulak did a terrific job at character development and creating a super eerie setting. I also loved the inclusion of the drawings throughout, so this is definitely one that I recommend picking up a physical copy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Gun violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Child abuse, Death, and Medical content

paperkindle's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This book had so much potential but the supernatural put it off for me 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug abuse

theteatreebooks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

That twist though. I definitely did not see it coming at all. And I’m honestly not sure how I feel about it. A part of me wants to save bravo, so unique, but the other half wants to say wow how messed up is that! I enjoyed the incorporation of drawings and the mix between psychological/supernatural thriller. There were parts that absolutely gave me goose bumps, and I’ve never had a book do that to me before. So overall, it was a fun ride, and very unique. I enjoyed it. Just not sure how I feel about that ending quite yet.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Death of parent, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, and Gun violence

youthofpandas's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-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

2.5

Didn't enjoy it much until about 2/3rds in, thought the characters were weak and the mystery didn't hook me, but then things finally started happening. While I didn't think it was the most gripping plot nor did I feel rewarded for thinking about the clues brought up, it was more interesting than the first half. The writing style isn't anything complex but it is easy to read, like a bad low grade horror movie you can eat popcorn to and turn your brain off for a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Addiction, Violence, Drug abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Drug use, Car accident, Death of parent, and Kidnapping

Minor: Police brutality, Racism, and Infertility

ktgoodman's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, and Death of parent

mkwreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Infertility, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Fatphobia