Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

9 reviews

savreads28's review

challenging dark mysterious sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Stalking, Drug use, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Confinement, Blood, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Racism, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Violence, Dementia, Torture, Car accident, and Drug abuse

cnannery19's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infertility, Addiction, Death, and Confinement

jennabeck13's review

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

spooderman's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Blood, and Transphobia

Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Outing, and Stalking

Minor: Bullying, Dementia, Dysphoria, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Classism, Infidelity, Vomit, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Medical content, and Medical trauma

myriam_almonti's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Violence, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Hate crime, Drug use, Infidelity, Murder, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Xenophobia and Car accident

Minor: Miscarriage and Racism

meeklovestoread's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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

4.75

My goodness, I just finished this book (at night, sheesh😬) and I have goosebumps. I literally still have chills. I honestly commend the author for their dedication to this book. The illustrations really made the book what it is. It was an excellent incorporation. I honestly loved this book from front to back.  The big twist was a little far fetch for me, but it was plausible. And even after I was still growing anxious. I understand the hype. I truly a little scared at times. What a true horror book.

But I wish everything tied together. The way Annie found out about the reveal was far fetch considering the reader themselves didn't get to see how she came up with this conclusion. Also, I lowkey wished they stuck with the ghost story because the actual twist of it all being Caroline and the spirit being someone else was so last minutes. And I still don't see how the opening scene of her doing the experiment had much to do with the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, Infertility, and Racism

Minor: Medical content

moodreadererin's review

dark hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Stalking, Transphobia, Child abuse, and Racism

Minor: Medical content, Car accident, and Infertility

livvmarks's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Classism, Cursing, Infidelity, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Transphobia, and Xenophobia

whatathymeitwas's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Well that was a trip, I kept thinking I knew what was going on and boy, was I wrong. I liked this quite a bit. It does have its issues, but the fact that it was a well written, unique story, pretty much held my attention. I also appreciated that it was presented with artwork within, that was refreshing. Overall I enjoyed it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Infertility, Kidnapping, Stalking, Alcohol, Death of parent, Death, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Car accident, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Murder

Moderate: Dementia, Gaslighting, Medical content, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault