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a_violentfemme's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction and Alcohol
gellyreads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Pedophilia, Violence, and Blood
salalamander's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Trafficking, Stalking, and Alcohol
i3v4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia and Torture
jully_bean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Medical content, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Excrement, Vomit, and Trafficking
hambo221's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Self harm, and Cannibalism
unpetitchat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
melosamatic's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcoholism and Animal death
fschmidt2001's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
kiwibird's review against another edition
5.0
On the surface, it's a vampire novel, but once you look below this, it's really a book about the (perhaps unavoidable) evil of humanity and being an outsider in a society that wasn't made to accept you. It also had a lot of unexpected queer themes—deep down, the narrative of the main character Oskar is just the story of a young boy coming to terms with his sexuality. The character of Eli, the young vampire Oskar falls in love with, is also fascinating. The text refers to Eli intermittently as she and he, and though she insists multiple times that she's "not a girl", she still chooses to present herself femininely. It's very easy to read her as a transfeminine nonbinary character, even though these terms weren't commonplace when the book was written.
I don't want to say that this novel is completely unproblematic, especially when it comes to its queer representation. I won't go into much detail so as to avoid spoilers, but there are several harmful stereotypes employed in the narrative, and Eli's transness can easily be seen as something that was forced upon her rather than a choice she made.
Despite these criticisms, I thoroughly enjoyed Let the Right One In and the way it grappled with heavy themes. This is definitely not a book for the faint of heart (be sure to check content warnings for this one), but if you're interested a good vampire story where the humans are the real villains, a portrait of 80s Stockholm suburbs, or a horror-genre exploration of growing up queer, you should pick it up.
{Note: I read the original Swedish version, so I can't comment on how the English translation holds up.}
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcoholism and Racism