Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Boys In the Valley by Philip Fracassi

28 reviews

amalia12's review

This book was recommended by a Booktuber in her video. I thought the premise to be interesting, so I gave it a go. And yes, there was some scary stuff in the first half, but the pacing to me seemed rather slow, so the plot dragged on and on. Also, I couldn't really connect to any of the characters.
During reading, I also realized I am not really interested in Christian-themed supernatural horror that much anymore (as in, Christian people who get possessed by demons from hell or so), so I guess I'll skip other books with this topic.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, and Child death

ethana's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Violence

Moderate: Physical abuse and Confinement

Minor: Animal death, Self harm, and Vomit

castamere's review

challenging dark sad tense fast-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Child death, Child abuse, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Animal death

Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Abandonment

j_j_r_m's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Child abuse

drewchebaggery's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Boys in the Valley is an engaging, fast-paced horror novel. It could be described as a combination of Lord of the Flies, The Exorcist, and The Stand or Swan Song. If you can stomach some heavy good versus evil themes with children in an orphanage making up the bulk of the characters, then you will enjoy this novel. Fair warning, the novel contains a lot of horror and brutality which the boys experience, so if childhood trauma is a trigger for you, then you probably want to skip this one.

Prior to reading this, I had read A Child Alone with Strangers by Fracassi. While I also enjoyed that novel, this was a much shorter read at around 300 pages and I felt like the pacing of the horror in this novel worked better. Additionally, the horror elements were more intense in my opinion because the cast of characters are predominately youth. If you’ve ever attended Catholic school, this one might also resonate with you. I’ll definitely be reading more of Fracassi’s works because this was one of my favorite horror novels I have read so far this year. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Animal death

jesssicawho's review

dark emotional sad 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

4.0

Lord of the Flies meets The Exorcist. This was creepy and weird and would make a great movie. My one complaint is that it doesn't touch upon the origin or desires of the evil/demon (other than wreaking havoc and mayhem). That felt very surface level - evil for the sake of being evil. 

I was impressed by how well written some of the characters were. They felt multi-layered and empathetic, even if (some) were despicable. The ending was touching.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence

takecoverbooksptbo's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Despite some misgivings about how Fracassi resolves the conflict between the real-world harms Catholic institutions have inflicted and the spiritual salvation that the religion offers, this book rules. As possession narratives go, you’d be hard pressed to find a book that is paced this well and also finds time to develop characters, mood, and dread. There are some very scary, unsettling moments in this story. I’d highly recommend it if you want an action-packed horror story that will tug at your heart-strings a little bit.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Child abuse, Suicide, Confinement, Murder, Blood, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Self harm, and Grief

meggles801's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

Read. This. Book. 
Oh my god. 
Just read it. 
Check your TWs first, but then,
JUST READ IT. 
Are you still reading this review? Why?!
Go read Boys in the Valley! 
🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Confinement, Murder, and Child death

killmoore_'s review

dark sad tense fast-paced

• 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

5.0

I could not have loved this more. Truly terrifying, and at times completely gut wrenching. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Violence, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Vomit

kirrarrik's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Confinement, Blood, Death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Gun violence, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Physical abuse, Murder, and Death of parent