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gerrakay's review against another edition
Those glimpses of plot we do get imply a very dull one. I read other reviews, including spoilers, and I was correct in assuming I guessed the story line from the start (which frankly I think was intentional since it is so overt, but that would suggest that the journey is the point, and the journey drags because it's so fucking long and the main character sucks so bad that it's just an exercise in misery).
Hate to be a hater but I hate it.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
jamiee_f's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My pitch for this book is: Mary is having a shitty time. She's having hot flashes, nightmares, fainting spells, and whenever she looks at a woman, she envisions their flesh melting off. The doctor writes it off as perimenopause, but then Mary also gets fired, finds out her rent is doubling, and her bitchy aunt is asking her to come care for her while she dies from emphysema. With no further prospects, Mary packs up her collection of ceramic 'loved ones' and returns to her childhood home, where her aunt raised her after her parents perished in a fire.
Meek Mary things thinks are going to suck a regular amount when she gets to her aunt's house, but then she goes to take a shower and the ghost of a dead and bloodied woman is in the shower. She freaks out and hits her head, and our story really begins.
Mary starts to have flashes of a darker voice inside her, and begins losing time. She starts to reconsider things in her life, her childhood bullies, her relationship with her aunt. She befriends a peppy teenager who is obsessed with true crime, and confides in her that she thinks she might be possessed by the ghost of one of the serial killer's victims. Her new teenage sidekick leans in to this, and helps Mary research. While this is happening...a few people turn up dead or missing! Mary starts to think she might not be the reincarnation of one of the victims, but perhaps of the serial killer himself. She explores this angle and finds she was born the day the serial killer was killed by police 50 years ago.
Once she puts this together, she falls into an undercover religious cult that is obsessed with said killer and makes sacrifices to him annually. Mary is able to 'talk' to the killer inside her, who encourages her to torture and kill the sacrifices. However, the men in town think it's absurd the killer would be reincarnated into a woman, and put her through a series of challenges to try to 'prove' it's really him. This is met with various levels of success, but ultimately the powerful town doctor/mayor/cult leader takes Mary to the desert to kill her.
While Mary is melting away in the desert, she connects with the spirits of the dead women she has been seeing. She encourages them to free themselves by removing the bloody cloth covering their faces, and by acknowledging the ghosts, she gives them power. The bathtub ghost is able to free Mary, and they trek back into town to set things straight.
Mary ends up confronting the killer within her, eviscerating him and exorcising him from her, while building up the power of her dead woman ghost army. They wreak havoc on the town leaders, and it is a bloodbath. Mary's teenage sidekick, it turns out, has been planning to murder Mary this whole time! The two struggle and ultimately have a bloody battle. In the end, Mary gets away, sneaking away before the cops are called, having self actualized and literally cut down the patriarchy.
The book ends with neighboring townspeople showing up for an easter egg hunt, and finding the mansion/hospital covered in blood and gore. The sweet nurse who tried to befriend Mary is found wandering the secret passageways with a missing boy and ends up shot by an overzealous cop, who went on to become famous for "solving" the case of the easter massacre. Mary goes on to live peacefully in New York again, with her army of lady ghosts doling out justice as they see fit.
I listened to the audiobook and it had a thoughtful note from the author before the book, and at the end, which made me appreciate the story all the more. The author is clear that he was deeply and profoundly inspired by his mother and the book Carrie, and has been working on a book like this for most of his life. I absolutely loved it, and strongly recommend listening to/reading the author's context as well.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Drug use, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
hauntedantiqueshop's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Body shaming, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
we need a tw tag for cults!vixenreader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Racism, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Excrement, Vomit, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
Please be aware that there is ageism against middle-aged women, cult activity, family dysfunction, murder of a family member, and purposeful glorification of a serial killer.parasolcrafter's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
none of the twists feel earned since they were all so easily guessable (like noooo way, mary is the serial killer reincarnated??? oh say it isnt so...surely nobody guessed that at all) and because of that, fell entirely flat. like never once was i caught off guard by a piece of info or shocked or felt as if anything we learned put anything into place snce everything felt obvious from the beginning. like we KNOW there's something wrong with mary from the beginning. we know she killed her neighbours dog. we know that. its obvious. like...i dont even know what else to say about that. it was all just SO badly implemented.
also like it truly is a little mind-blowing how this book still managed to drive home the old 'the serial killer is just a crazy psycho on the loose' despite the fact that i dont think that was meant to be the case...? thats an entirely horrible trope in and of itself and the fact that this book has it in it, just a somewhat misdrect from the entirely obvious plot point, is BAFFLING to me. like it adds nothing the story. nothing. and like..are we supposed to care about mary? are we supposed to sympathize with her? feel pity for her? i hate her. i wish she died out in that fucking desert. i wish the furies would have clawed her eyes out and skinned her the way the members of the flock do to their sacrifices. thats what she deserves. she is a horrible woman, through and through, with no redeeming qualities. i dont believe for even a SECOND that she was ever acting not of her own volition and that its all blamed on 'being the reincarnation of damon cross', aside from the few times he Actually took her over. but before that? before she knew? no; that was all mary.
the only few good parts about this is, at least, that the book is at least self-aware. i appreciated that there was a little bit of satire against true crime culture and it did seem to have (some) insight into what women g through during their lives and how they change during menopause, but those parts were few and far between.
the book also just isnt scary; except, maybe, scary how bad it is.
and to answer the question in the authors afterword which is, directly; 'Was this a story I should have pursued? Or should I have let it scratch in vain inside the haunted trunk of ideas that sits inside every writer's brain?' yes; you absolutely should have locked it away and never looked at this idea again, for fucks sake.
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
blacksphinx's review
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Racism, Terminal illness, Vomit, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
scytheria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Gun violence, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
crispr_breadboard's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Another impressive note— the author wrote with notable care and sensitivity about menopause- he has also written an afterword discussing the very real and complex topic of whether a man should even be *allowed* to write about the topic with such core themes around womanhood, menopause, and self identity. He did a fantastic job, which he acknowledges is also thanks to his editor and her team of sensitivity readers. Great work.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Excrement, and Death of parent
Also has creepy scenes about insects too.owlribbon's review
2.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, and Child death
sleeson's review against another edition
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder