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pinkfawn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I picked this up, resonating with the feeling to losing my parents to right-wing media, always feeling solidarity with others who have experienced this. I think this story did a good job highlighting all of the seemingly harmless ways that people can be indoctrinated, sometimes without even knowing.
This book is very graphic and gory. It also won't leave you feeling good.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pandemic/Epidemic
summerangel's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Excrement, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Transphobia and Stalking
Minor: Lesbophobia
ghostsymposium's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
stephshelves's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Murder
katiebella_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
⚠️ They Ate The Dog!!!
Child mutilation, sexual horror, graphically gross, political horror
This book has no conventional chapters. There are some paragraph headings. Different dates, Povs, activities, and social media posts that are used as a placeholder. Some go on and on for pages. If you like short, easy chapters, this isn't the book for you.
This book highlights the differences between liberals and conservatives. It is a country divided by politics. It pokes fun at society and the news. Fox News is here Fax News. Providing false narrative to the nation. Indoctrination. All the horrors and travesties in this book seem to be perpetrated by the non-liberals/conservatives. Neither side is presented in a good light. Librals/democrats are weak, victims living inside little bubbles, hoping the world will protect them just because of their values. If you have firm political beliefs, this might not be the book for you.
Gross. Absolutely abhorrent. I couldn't tare myself away. Even in disgust, I read on. Transfixed by the narrative, I gagged my way through. The horror here is everything and the kitchen sink. Body horror, sexual parental horror, social horror, psychological horror, apocalyptic horror, splattering, and extreme. It's over the top and, at times, offensive. If you have a weak stomach, this might not be the book for you.
This is a possession story. Possession by media. How exposure to view points and ideas can possess who you are and how you function, much like a demon. This is a zombie story. Brainwashed to brain dead. The old adage of too much screen time zombifying.
This is fear and propaganda, conspiracy theories, and terrorism drawn out and twisted into a novel. Falsified school shooting to pass gun reform laws. Viruses started in labs in China.
I found the switching between third - and second person narratives a bit jarring. I understood the point the author was conveying. I just had a hard time with the second person, pov. I don't read a lot of YN stories.
This book really doesn't have that many bad reviews. This is mostly due to the fact that it is so incredibly well written that no matter your views, beliefs, or your gag reflex, you have to recognize that this is a phenomenally well written book. The other reason it doesn't have many bad reviews is that it seems to have an incredibly large number of DNFs. I can only surmise that this is due to the political nature of the book, along with its wildly disgusting content.
Many times, I wanted to DNF due to the revolting and nauseating themes presented in this novel. In the end, I'm glad I soldiered through it. The ending was phenomenal. I don't think I have the constitution to read another of his tales, but I'm satisfied with having read this. To those who DNFd before the halfway point - Try Again! It really truly does get better.
The onomatopoeia is hilarious in the book, though.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
herasrevenge88's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Splatterpunk septuagenarian cannibalistic orgieskkalicky94's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I don't know what he puts into his books to make them so damn good but I hope he never stops writing. This was a cool take on "zombies"/epidemic/brainwashing? I don't even know how to describe it honestly. It reminded me of American Rapture by CJ Leede but political instead of religious. I like to go into books blind and I think that's the best approach for this book as well because there's no way you can properly describe what happens in this book. I'm sure for a lot of people it'll be a book they love or hate but I personally loved it ☺️
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ajslifelibrary's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Vomit, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Colonisation
aquaphase's review
- 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
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.
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.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism
rachelbram's review against another edition
1.5
Gory for the sake of being gory. I thought the way the teenage character was depicted as going alt-right didn't really make any sense, especially compared with how the parents did? Like the teenager had significantly less agency, which maybe was the point but just. Didn't make sense in the context. Lots of things that didn't make sense.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail