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Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman

11 reviews

ajslifelibrary's review

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challenging dark reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5


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aquaphase's review

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dark fast-paced
  • 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? It's complicated

5.0

 One of the most enjoyable things about picking up the new offering from Mr. Chapman is that you never know what you are going to get. Ghost Eaters put a lot of folks off fungi, Whisper Down the Lane brought back a whole lot of PTSD surrounding the “Satanic Panic,” and I’m not even going to go into the crustacean trauma surrounding What Kind of Mother that I still have. 

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes did not disappoint in the slightest. 

The story opens innocently enough. Noah Fairchild is a liberal family man living in Brooklyn who has distanced himself a bit from his Richmond, Virginia family after their years-long slide into the far-right cable media. When Noah’s mother leaves a voicemail rambling about the “Great Reawakening,” and Noah can’t reach her for clarification; he gets a tad concerned and sets out for Virginia to get to the bottom of this. 

What Noah finds is an utter nightmare, that, it turns out, isn’t just confined to his family: people across the country appear to be infected with a media-fueled demonic possession; fueled by exposure to television, apps, and other content. 

One of the things I appreciated the most in the presentation of this story was the implied multimedia presentation of the situation. Switching between recounts of TikTok feeds, news reports, personal videos, and other sources, the reader gets a quick snapshot of the insanity that seems to be spreading though the nation. The fever dream inclusion of Anderson Cooper as an imaginary narrator at one point really just drives the insanity aspect of this story home. 
Plus, I have to add, I picked one hell of a week to binge this one: the transition of power in the US government. 

As always with Mr. Chapman, Wake Up and Open Your Eyes is very worth picking up. It’ll very much make you question where the “sickness” comes from. Just a bit of FYI, it has absolutely every single content warning that one might be able to think of. Definitely not for the faint of heart. 

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readwithme83's review

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challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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toddjohnson's review

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This is the worst book I've read in a long, long time. Even if you ignore the reductive, idiotic politics of it, the writing is artless and childish. The author is clearly aiming for comparisons to Stephen King but can only ape some of King's most obvious tics, clearly understanding nothing about why and in what capacity they can be effective. Suspension of disbelief is made impossible by several glaring factual inaccuracies and errors. The pacing is all over the place, not in a fun roller-coaster kind of way but in a way that makes it seem like the book was written in a stream-of-consciousness style: no thought seems to have been given in advance to the best way to build and release tension. Things just happen for a while and then they stop happening. I saw a positive review of this book compare it favorably to American Rapture and just, no. That book is lyrical and subtle and draws you in with its compelling, flawed characters. This book is a collection of terrible things done by, and happening to, cyphers. I could not possibly recommend it less.

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2ratsinacoat's review

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

4.75

Okay, so. 
I really liked this book. I thought the themes were intriguing and noteworthy, and the ideas were fresh. I do think that having a fresh and unique idea can get you far, but… I think the things were a bit heavy handed. That’s cool, I just was hoping for something a bit more thought provoking. Fair warning, there is a lot, and I mean a lot of gore/sexuality, and not in a fun way. The ending wasn’t my favorite, but I still really liked it! If you don’t like political criticism of either side, then don’t read, but I found it enjoyable.

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funbrarian's review against another edition

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

3.0


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gabbareads's review

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dark funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • 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

3.75

There were some horror elements in this that really did not work for me but the overall theme/message and even idea of the book was exceptional. The ending also brought everything full circle in a somewhat surprising and honest way.

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horrorbunny's review

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

5.0

Mr Chapman has done it again. What the absolute F*CK?
Very few authors can make my eyes go wide as dinner plates, but this man can.

A chilling, fast-paced story packed full of scathing social commentary. Bloody, violent, surprising, and disturbing. 

Are you ready to WAKE UP and OPEN YOUR EYES? 

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ellereadsalottt's review against another edition

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medium-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? It's complicated

3.75


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ddjojo27's review

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What the fuck? I can't handle this book. I'm speechless right now

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