A review by ciaranolio
Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

One of my favourite books, outright. An incredible, twisted horror story about fascism, womanhood, and social privilege, revolving around a haunted house (which is also England), among the finest of its kind in the storied and ghost-ridden neighbourhood of horror writing. Reminiscent of Gretchen Felker-Martin and Jonathan Sims in writing style and subject matter, this book concerns itself heavily with radicalisation, gender, and intersections of identity. Rumfitt's POV characters are incredible, both sympathetic and unlikeable in their own wholly separate ways. A must read, in my mind, for those not immediately put off by the graphic subject matter. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Blood, Islamophobia, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal death, Deadnaming, Drug use, Genocide, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Dysphoria

Violent nazism, fascism, and especially modern white nationalism are at the core of this book. Proceed with caution if these are difficult topics, as Rumfitt (quite rightly) pulls no punches with the subject of the horror she describes.