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regal_leaves's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith is a a creepy, fever dream of a novel about two young women who go missing decades apart, both are fearless and lost. And they will both have their revenge.
Right off the bat – this book is like nothing I’ve read before and in all honestly I don’t know how to describe the experience of reading it. There’s magical realism, ghosts, two headed serpents and so much more that will have you on the edge of your seat while reading.
For the most part we’re trying to piece together Winnie’s story as we learn of her disappearance in the first chapter. There are a handful of intertwined timelines that all drop breadcrumbs of information, building to build a complex puzzle of anguish and horror set over several decades.
- READ FULL REVIEW AT https://wp.me/pbWTXv-74 -
- READ FULL REVIEW AT https://wp.me/pbWTXv-74 -
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, and Sexism
biblio_jordyn's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
What could have been better?
The pacing could sometimes feel slow.
What I enjoyed?
Whoa! This book was complex in the best kind of way. You get multiple time periods and points of view to get a story that eventually ties together to make your eyes go wide. I think this novel shows the author’s phenomenal storytelling abilities as she intertwines the time periods and characters lives seamlessly together by the end in some ways I saw coming and other ways I didn’t.
This story is dark! Has a lot of paranormal elements! Has a revenge plot and some thriller elements tied in too, while also introducing us to some elements of Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American experience and cultural dynamics (this author is an #ownvoices author).
This is a book I feel like I would have loved to have a college literature class about! There’s a lot to unpack and it has a lot going on, but I personally think it’s in the best way possible. I literally was writing down my guesses and all the connections of the characters as I read (there’s also a cheat cheat of characters at the beginning of the book if needed).
I recommend this book to people who don’t mind a slower pace story, with time shifts and multiple povs, and are looking for a complex read that’s different than anything they’ve ever read before!
Thank you to random house for the free copy in exchange for an honest review
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, and Murder
Minor: Rape and Eating disorder
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