Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

52 reviews

gentle_garbage_baby's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

I really enjoyed this! Such a fun spin on the classic possession story. I love that the main perspective is from 8-year-old Merry, who doesn't quite understand what is going on with her sister, Marjorie, and as such makes you as the reader question

whether Marjorie is faking everything, whether she's mentally unwell, or whether she really is possessed by a demon

. The family as a whole is very disconnected and their personalities clash with each other, making each interaction exciting and tense. An excellent read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Grief, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Vomit

50shadesofrae's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have complicated feelings about this one, 95% of which would require spoilers to explain. 
The last third-ish has some issues for me, but overall it was a really fascinating autopsy of the exorcist genre? And the deep voyeuristic horror of it? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Confinement, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Murder, Self harm, Vomit, Body horror, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Addiction

guccishoestrings's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I have read this book twice over the course of 16 months as my creative writing (later horror film and literature) professor recommended and later required to read this book.

This book seems like a book about a teen getting an exorcism but that is not at all what this book is about. This book is more about a family that is damaged beyond repair, financially crushed, and seeking for any kind of hope they can find. There are really only two main characters in this book in Marjorie (the teen who is "possessed") and Merry (who is the narrator) with their mother and father being important but secondary main characters. The father of the family lost his job and has since pretty much become a cult like member at the church, the mother has been dealing with severe depression and with everything going on she has gotten much worse, and Marjorie is apparently possessed. Eventually a show is made to show the exorcism of Marjorie and the book goes from there.

I suggest reading this book once then after reflection and thought read it again in a week. There are so many little things that you miss through your first read through. I also suggest reading with a group of 4 or more people as after reading for a class, almost everybody has different thoughts on what the story and characters are conveying. Just do not go in expecting an exorcism horror book, because this is a different type of horror, just wait till the end of this book as it is truly heartbreaking.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, and Vomit

daniellecherny's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Excrement, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Self harm, Gaslighting, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Suicide, Torture, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Cursing, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Minor: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, and Bullying

Ending is left open/ambiguous. If you need a clear ending that explains exactly what happened, don't read this book.

matcha_cat's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Vomit, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Suicide

Moderate: Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

Minor: Excrement, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

add_a_little_spook's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Suicide, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, Bullying, and Alcohol

alicemorrison1029's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

i loved reading this book. the overall experience was fantastic, but the ending left me unsatisfied. i understand what the author was trying to achieve: he wanted the readers to decide what they thought truly happened to marjorie/john/merry for themselves—what was the true explanation for marjorie’s mental state/behavior: possession or mental illness,

why did marjorie want the rest of the family to be killed, and what is the implication at the end about merry’s soul/spirit?

while usually an ambiguous ending like this would be enjoyable for me, i feel like this specific story requires more answers/explanation to leave the readers feeling satisfied, because, even though i enjoyed the book overall, i wanted more from the ending and was left feeling unsatisfied and unfulfilled. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Religious bigotry

kamasola's review

dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Body horror, and Religious bigotry

frankieatthedisco's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

dale1997's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Vomit, and Religious bigotry