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aprilbethp's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I’m a huge Grady Hendrix fan but this was my least favorite of his books.
Listen, I enjoy camp but this was just over the top. I usually love how Hendrix is able to blend camp humor and horror together. The problem for me was that there wasn’t one moment I was scared for the characters. There were a lot of “well, that’s gross and horrific” moments of body gore but not many if any moments of “how are they gonna survive this” moments.
I appreciated the themes of generational trauma and family systems. I always love how Hendrix tackles bigger issues with compassion, humor, and spot on analysis. I also appreciated how unlikeable most characters are because sometimes when in a family you see too much of what makes our own family members, ourselves included, unlikeable. Yet, we still love them. Those dynamics rang true to me.
But the haunting of puppets…Pupkin was so ridiculous that everything he said and did, it just wasn’t scary. And while humor is key to all of Hendrix’s books, this humor pulled me out of the story. I like horror that feels realistic even if it contains implausible creatures. I would have perhaps been able to go with it more had Pupkin not been a hand puppet. Maybe a regular doll or regular ventriloquist dummy? I don’t know the Pupkin commedia masks made sense to me. Completely coverage of the puppeteers the swallowing of them whole. But a small hand puppet made for a child’s hand …
it was too silly for my brain to take seriously.
But I did enjoy the read even if no thrills were had. I laughed some. I did cringe at the body gore. I appreciated the themes. I give it a better than average score of 3.5. It achieved what it needed to if not in a fashion I would have hoped for.
Listen, I enjoy camp but this was just over the top. I usually love how Hendrix is able to blend camp humor and horror together. The problem for me was that there wasn’t one moment I was scared for the characters. There were a lot of “well, that’s gross and horrific” moments of body gore but not many if any moments of “how are they gonna survive this” moments.
I appreciated the themes of generational trauma and family systems. I always love how Hendrix tackles bigger issues with compassion, humor, and spot on analysis. I also appreciated how unlikeable most characters are because sometimes when in a family you see too much of what makes our own family members, ourselves included, unlikeable. Yet, we still love them. Those dynamics rang true to me.
But the haunting of puppets…
it was too silly for my brain to take seriously.
But I did enjoy the read even if no thrills were had. I laughed some. I did cringe at the body gore. I appreciated the themes. I give it a better than average score of 3.5. It achieved what it needed to if not in a fashion I would have hoped for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Body horror, Blood, Death, Medical trauma, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
njmenzel's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
I'm not sure any other "horror" book I've ever read can be considered horror after reading How to Sell a Haunted House. This is all of my nightmares and worst fears, bundled together. I hated reading it, and yet, I loved this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Car accident, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child death
hallowreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
slow-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
2.0
Hendrix writes another badly stereotyped female protagonist. Louise is the “uptight, successful man hater”. While some parts of the middle were funny and engaging, I think overall this book should be much shorter. Hendrix needs to challenge himself to write male characters, as the most engaging part of this book was the short section from the main character’s younger brother’s perspective. Mark is the only character in the book that is fully fleshed out with interesting motivations and choices. Overall I don’t recommend readers *not* read this book, but there are more engaging, less problematic books out there by authors creating diverse horrorscapes with fully realized characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Child death, Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Confinement, Fatphobia, and Gun violence
Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty
justbkathleen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty
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