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javafenn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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
3.0
I’d say half these short stories were excellent, spooky, and/or left me wanting more in all the right ways. The other half just left me confused or unsatisfied with how it ended. Some of the endings were so confusing that getting clarification online didn’t help because others were confused too. Still a great listen and the narraters were awesome! Just maybe not THE best Shirley Jackson.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Death, Murder, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Mental illness, Abandonment, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Car accident, Child death, and Violence
sunn_bleach's review
dark
mysterious
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
Selection of Jackson’s finest medium, the short story. Some feel unfinished but this is like crate digging for horror - the discovery is itself a reward.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Violence
readerette's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-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 think I put a little too much stock in the description for the book; I might have liked the stories better if I hadn't read the description. Most of the stories didn't quite go deep enough to convince me that there was "something sinister in suburbia." A few of them definitely did take it far enough to be creepy, but the rest just felt like a recitation of a day in the life of an unhappy or uncertain person. That's an interesting enough story, but didn't quite reach the promise of the theme for me. The writing is good and the characters well-developed, and there's a decent range present, of the everyday to things more magical/fantastical.
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Death, Toxic relationship, and Violence
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