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A review by minimicropup
Such Nice People by Sandra Scoppettone
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
5.0
🇺🇸 Set in a Pennsylvania home during Christmas (Dec 18 - 22) in the 1980s
POV: The story unfolds through the perspectives of various family members and peripheral characters in third-person narrative. We get particular focus on a 23 year old graduate student, a 17 year old high school senior, a 14 year old high school freshman, a 12 year old growing up fast, and their two parents in their forties.
Mood Reading Match Up:
-Elements of family saga with the tension of a true crime family tragedy
-Literary fiction horror set against the backdrop of Christmas with a nostalgic feel
-Themes include multigenerational trauma, repressed emotions, destructive perfectionism, family dynamics, true love, personal growth, mental illness, consequence, and societal pressures.
—
🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕
✏️ Writing: The writing felt exceptional to me, blending literary fiction with character studies. Scenes that could be mundane are made interesting through a strategic combination of showing and telling. This was written in the 1980s but it does not feel that way at all. It could easily be a modern publication set in the 1980s. The writing style, perspectives, and challenges are still relevant (somewhat sadly) even today.
🫥 Characters: Each character is well-developed, introduced in a natural way that allows the reader to gradually get to know them. The different perspectives are distinct and give us a comprehensive view of the unfolding drama.
🗺️ Worldbuilding: The setting is built naturally through the characters’ actions and experiences, creating an immersive environment without overwhelming the reader’s imagination (or getting bogged down in details).
🔥 Fuel: The suspense revolves around Tom’s mysterious internal conversations and the gradual escalation of events within the family. The narrative builds tension around whether Tom can overcome his struggles and the impending life-changing events for each family member wrestling with their own personal struggles and plans for after Christmas.
🐢🐇 Pacing: The story dives straight into Tom’s experiences, then maintains a steady pace that kept me hooked. If you want fast-paced action, slasher, pure evil type narratives this could feel slow, even boring for you. I loved it for the slow build psychological and suggestive elements gradually gaining speed as we head into the culmination of the past four days.
🎬 Scenes: The narrative includes mini-tragedies and symbolic elements, with relatable family dynamics. This family was reminiscent of the “Home Alone” family to me. Despite all their faults and failures, they felt familiar, even likeable at times. I think most of us either had family dynamics like this or knew someone who did growing up. The horrors are definitely descriptive, but to the point and didn’t feel gratuitous.
🤔 Random Thoughts: This story offers a deep and thought-provoking exploration of morally grey characters, each dealing with their own baggage. It’s a true-to-life narrative that highlights the impact of everyday decisions, particularly on children. I think certain scenes will resonate more than others for different readers, so it would be an excellent book club pick if everyone can stomach some of the more terrifying scenes at the end.
—
“Such Nice People” is an intense and psychologically deep novel that effectively portrays the complexities of family dynamics and the ripple effects of personal actions.
Content Heads-Up: Mental illness (hallucinations, dissociation, psychosis). Body shaming. Fatphobia. Blood. Mass murder. Violence (gun, knife). Parental neglect (emotional). PTSD. Sexual violence/self harm. Infidelity. Loveless relationship. Alcoholism (recall). Sexual content. Attempted rape.
Rep: The story features a White American family, with gay, Jewish-American, and dark-skinned characters in peripheral roles.
Format: Digital scan via the Internet Archive. (Thank you Internet Archive! This book is almost impossible to find online for less than $70. I hope this gets re-printed or digitized for ebook readers🤞)
🥺 This was one of my most captivating books of 2023
“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”
POV: The story unfolds through the perspectives of various family members and peripheral characters in third-person narrative. We get particular focus on a 23 year old graduate student, a 17 year old high school senior, a 14 year old high school freshman, a 12 year old growing up fast, and their two parents in their forties.
Mood Reading Match Up:
-Elements of family saga with the tension of a true crime family tragedy
-Literary fiction horror set against the backdrop of Christmas with a nostalgic feel
-Themes include multigenerational trauma, repressed emotions, destructive perfectionism, family dynamics, true love, personal growth, mental illness, consequence, and societal pressures.
—
🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕
✏️ Writing: The writing felt exceptional to me, blending literary fiction with character studies. Scenes that could be mundane are made interesting through a strategic combination of showing and telling. This was written in the 1980s but it does not feel that way at all. It could easily be a modern publication set in the 1980s. The writing style, perspectives, and challenges are still relevant (somewhat sadly) even today.
🫥 Characters: Each character is well-developed, introduced in a natural way that allows the reader to gradually get to know them. The different perspectives are distinct and give us a comprehensive view of the unfolding drama.
🗺️ Worldbuilding: The setting is built naturally through the characters’ actions and experiences, creating an immersive environment without overwhelming the reader’s imagination (or getting bogged down in details).
🔥 Fuel: The suspense revolves around Tom’s mysterious internal conversations and the gradual escalation of events within the family. The narrative builds tension around whether Tom can overcome his struggles and the impending life-changing events for each family member wrestling with their own personal struggles and plans for after Christmas.
🐢🐇 Pacing: The story dives straight into Tom’s experiences, then maintains a steady pace that kept me hooked. If you want fast-paced action, slasher, pure evil type narratives this could feel slow, even boring for you. I loved it for the slow build psychological and suggestive elements gradually gaining speed as we head into the culmination of the past four days.
🎬 Scenes: The narrative includes mini-tragedies and symbolic elements, with relatable family dynamics. This family was reminiscent of the “Home Alone” family to me. Despite all their faults and failures, they felt familiar, even likeable at times. I think most of us either had family dynamics like this or knew someone who did growing up. The horrors are definitely descriptive, but to the point and didn’t feel gratuitous.
🤔 Random Thoughts: This story offers a deep and thought-provoking exploration of morally grey characters, each dealing with their own baggage. It’s a true-to-life narrative that highlights the impact of everyday decisions, particularly on children. I think certain scenes will resonate more than others for different readers, so it would be an excellent book club pick if everyone can stomach some of the more terrifying scenes at the end.
—
“Such Nice People” is an intense and psychologically deep novel that effectively portrays the complexities of family dynamics and the ripple effects of personal actions.
Content Heads-Up: Mental illness (hallucinations, dissociation, psychosis). Body shaming. Fatphobia. Blood. Mass murder. Violence (gun, knife). Parental neglect (emotional). PTSD. Sexual violence/self harm. Infidelity. Loveless relationship. Alcoholism (recall). Sexual content. Attempted rape.
Rep: The story features a White American family, with gay, Jewish-American, and dark-skinned characters in peripheral roles.
Format: Digital scan via the Internet Archive. (Thank you Internet Archive! This book is almost impossible to find online for less than $70. I hope this gets re-printed or digitized for ebook readers🤞)
🥺 This was one of my most captivating books of 2023
“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fatphobia, and Body shaming
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Self harm, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Alcoholism