Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Deerskin by Robin McKinley

22 reviews

lillizzy's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Rape, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Incest

lottomotto's review

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

Wasted fantasy storytelling. I realize this story is dated but it didn’t challenged some boundaries or stretch a classic myth into a unique yarn .

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Violence

ansimps2's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Incest

Moderate: Animal cruelty

jessicafee86's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

And what he saw was a Moon-haired woman in a Moon-colored dress with a tall Moon-colored dog at her side. She was barefoot, and her hair hung down her back in a single long plait. Her dress was so white it almost hurt the eyes, while the dog’s long curly coat was softer, silver-grey, almost fawn, like the Moon in a summer fog.

There are so many things that I could say about this book, it is one of my all time favorite books. I've read it at least 15 or 20 times over the years. It's a tough read for a lot of reasons, the content is very adult in nature and is a very tough topic to read about. The book is also a slow writing style and takes a bit to get started but it's well worth it. Some people have problems getting past the first part because of the *spoiler alert!* incest between her and her father and the seemingly calm way that she seems to handle it. But it makes more sense when you keep reading and is such a beautiful story. I've never come across a book like this one before, it's definitely not for everyone, but it's worth trying.

2018 Re-read Update: Been a few years since I've read this and it's still just as good as I remember.

2024 Re-Read: It's funny how six years can bring out different feelings. I had forgotten how many things in this book shaped me as a person when I was growing up. I don't think I will ever not love this book. Discovered it around 25 yrs ago and it's still the only book I've re-read consistently. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Grief, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

sierrainstitches's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Just… beautiful and awful and magical and heartbreaking.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Blood, and Animal cruelty

tasintom's review against another edition

5.0

Now one of my top 10 reads. And my new favorite audiobook. A fantastic story told so very well

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Animal cruelty

sigynmoon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is a beautiful book. Absolutely stunning. It is deep and emotional and portrays trauma with a deep understanding. This was a truly empowering and healing story to read, rendering you raw and then comforting you afterwards. I also deeply appreciate the portrayal of friendship between people and animals and how these relationships were taken completely seriously and never came second. All in all, this book is instantly held as a favourite. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Death of parent, and Incest

Hunting scenes are sometimes described in detail, especially one in particular, hence the graphic animal death. It is mentioned that a dog died after giving birth.

Ash is viciously attacked in a way that can be disturbing and is written brutally but survives. Ash almost dies again later in the book but again survives. All main dogs, including the litter of puppies, survive and live happy lives.

Whilst the rape is on page, it is not described. However, the wounds and pain that is described are still disturbing and the book focuses heavily on the trauma. I would say the miscarriage is the same. The death of the protagonist's mother hangs over the story and follows her quite consistently, however it is unclear if the protagonist mourns her.

ashleyjapan's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Incest, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma

Minor: Violence, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Miscarriage

maria_s's review against another edition

challenging dark tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, and Rape

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Animal cruelty

Minor: Animal death and Death of parent

the_one_krissy's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm an emotional rater, and this little re-imagining of the Donkeyskin fairytale was an instant 5-star read for me. Anything that hits me in the feels like this is 5 stars automatically, no questions asked, no explanations given.

As you should know if you're familiar with the fairytale, it deals with extremely heavy, traumatising and painful themes like rape and incest, but I think it handles those respectfully, and overall the book has an atmospheric, almost dreamlike quality to it. Still, for anyone easily triggered by depictions of sexual assault, this book may be too much, so I'd recommend proceeding with caution. Lissar goes through absolute hell in this book.

I loved the characters and the new spin to the old fable. I loved the overall feeling of this book. I loved, loved the dogs! And there's a prince who's kindhearted and hardworking and cares a whole lot more about keeping a litter of motherless puppies alive than he cares about appearances or playing court. My heart! Ossin may not be the handsomest heir to the throne out there, but is he EVER the loveliest!

McKinley's books tend to resonate well with me in general, and this one is by far my favourite.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Incest, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Animal cruelty