Reviews with content warning for Death - Cherish Farrah

I'm really torn here because there are aspects of this book I really liked, but I can't say I liked the book. I didn't hate it, either. I guess the best way to describe it is fascinating and frustrating.

I love the title, it fits perfectly, same as the cover. I liked the social commentary/ horror aspect of the story, the vibes did remind me a lot of Get Out (I feel like everything it compared to Get Out these days, but this is the first time the comparison actually made sense to me). I loved the slow burn, the unsettling atmosphere, the way you don't know what is going on or whom to trust.

Unfortunately, I had a bad reading experience. The writing or narrative voice wasn't for me. I like the idea to spend a whole book in the head of one character and have this limited point of view. But it was SO tedious to be in Farrah's head. First it was interesting and new and there were moments when it had an impact on the story for me. But at some point it just got exhausting. The narration was just so vague all the time and made me more and more angry the more I progressed with the book. It's clear that Farrah observes everything that's going on around her and makes assumptions based on what she thinks she knows. But she doesn't actually tell you what she thinks or what she knows. It's like she is secretive in her own thoughts for no reason at all. And this got really frustrating. I also wasn't a fan of the gore.

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toofondofbooks_'s review

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I can honestly say I've never read anything like this before. "Cherish Farrah" had me hooked from the first page and it absolutely had me in a chokehold. The relationship between the two main characters was deliciously toxic, you never knew what was gonna happen there from one page to the next, the voice of our narrator (Farrah) was haunting, cunning, and often flat out disturbing. The craziest thing is that I never had any idea where it was going, and I usually have theories as to what is going on in a thriller, but I came up completely empty whenever I tried to theorize what could possibly be going on. The writing was beautiful and I felt like the book sort of read like an A24 film, which depending on your taste, could be a good thing or a bad thing. For me, it was a good thing. Someone make this into a film and cast Ryan Destiny in it, please.

The only things that I had a problem with were the repetition of certain words and phrases throughout, and I also didn't think that the ending was as explosive as it could've been. Overall, it was a very good social horror that examines class and race in a unique way that I've never read before. I think you should pick it up, but heed the trigger warnings.

Content Warnings