Reviews tagging 'Death'

Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

172 reviews

vavocado's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Animal death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Rape, Incest, Death, and Child abuse

lgiery's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

2.5

"Betty" draws from the author's mother's childhood, blurring the lines between biography and fiction. Despite this, I found many scenes unbelievable. The characters were flat and lacked depth, and I missed their complexity. 

Additionally, some scenes of abuse, violence, racism, and sexism seemed unnecessary and insensitively executed. There is also so much cruelty packed into this book with very little human complexity. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Rape, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Incest

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Homophobia

carrieella81's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Animal cruelty, Racism, Child death, Miscarriage, Self harm, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, and Incest

stellahadz's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I can't start this review without saying that Tiffany McDaniel is an immensely talented writer. You can tell that she really put her heart into writing this book, which is based on her own mother's early life. The prose is beautiful and lyrical, contrasting deeply with the heartbreaking story. This is an unforgettable book. Every character feels so real, and every event in the story of their lives makes the reader feel real anger, sadness, and joy right along with them. 

This is easily one of the best books I've read this year, and I can see it becoming an American classic. I highly recommend it, but I also suggest reading the trigger warnings beforehand, since it contains *many* emotionally heavy topics. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Racism, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abortion, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Classism, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

lerix4relur's review

dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

What can I say, I love girlhood, coming-of-age stories. I loved Betty and related to her a lot. Sometimes the saddest part of coming-of-age is facing the realities of the world. At times I hated the mom, Flossie, Fraya, the dad, but you understand them, why they are that way. I reread the beginning as soon as I ended and it is definitely something I want to read again in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Animal death

Moderate: Death, Incest, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Grief, and Racism

Minor: Drug abuse and Abortion

laurengeorgia's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Rape, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Self harm, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Abortion, Death, and Death of parent

cozyfantasyfaetay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Child death, Death, and Rape

Moderate: Abortion, Vomit, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, Blood, Bullying, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racial slurs, and Addiction

andrearenee42's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Beautiful love story to family with beautiful writing, but read the content warnings 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Animal death, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Murder, Violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Rape, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Hate crime, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

very graphic depiction of animal torture, specifically kittens

syellico's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Incest, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Abortion, Animal death, Grief, Suicide, Death, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child death, Pedophilia, and Racism

kridenour's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, Classism, Racism, Mental illness, Death, Rape, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death of parent, Abortion, and Animal cruelty