Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - Betty

it was too hard to read

reading this book broke me: it was so harsh and beautiful and sad and depicted the horrible truth, without covering any of it. the diff between the magical world of betty’s father, his connexion to nature, to realness and beauty, and the horror of real life was so wonderful

it was really worth reading, though really hard to
tw: everything

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rackle's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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kolorful_kay_reads's review against another edition

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challenging sad slow-paced

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

3.0

“‘If a woman fell ill and was unable to tend her garden, then her garden would be planted by the other women,’ he said. ‘They would do it for her, allowin’ the sick woman to rest and get better because when they planted her garden, they planted her chance to get back her strength.’”

📝: Describing this book is difficult. First, the book is fiction. Much of the story is born in truth of what was passed-down as memories; these memories are then modified and told by the author (Tiffany) who is a generation down the line from those who lived these stories. In terms of describing the content, I would call this a starkly depressing coming-of-age novel set in Ohio in the 1950s and probably stop there.

👩: This was a book that I read wth my feminist book club! We picked this based on interviews with the author (who said she had trouble publishing it due the female-centric storylines); additionally, other people have noted the content itself is very empowering to women. Overall, this book failed my feminism assessment. More on this later.

🎨: Every artist makes decisions that aren't necessarily right or wrong - but will hit or not hit certain people. For my own experience with this novel, numerous choices simply didn't work. The first-person, past-tense narrative was chosen for this story but with *very little* future insight from our narrator. This works well for readers who want to read about the conversations of an 8-12 year old girl for 450 pages. In my viewpoint, this child views the people in her life with very little exploration; her family members are little more than their hobbies or trauma in her eyes - the actor, artist, victim, or ill. This is probably a very precise artist approach to take; however, this limits the amount of insight allowed to the reader and is a stagnant choice considering the length of the book. I personally have no desire for 450 pages of a children's view on the world, regardless of how "adult" her problems may be. That's my own beef - not necessarily something the author did "wrong."

❓This book left me with so many questions!
* What about this is a feminist novel? The eight year old demands to wear pants and not be a victim of sexual assault, sure. But the majority of feminist theory is directly related to the father's re-telling of his matriarchal and indigenous roots. Betty never sees her sisters as humans but in the rare moments they bond over trauma; I get that she's eight... but an 8 year old's version of feminism is not necessarily what fits the bill as outright "feminist."
* Why - in this book in which the family is seemingly not at all religious - is every chapter led by a biblical quote? I get that it foreshadows the chapter... but why the bible?
* What little future insight we received from our narrator was random and confusing. She would let you know that a character would die of xxx and the next page they're alive again! What's the point of future plot if there is no future insight? Why were those choices made?
* Did any readers find the value of the newspaper storyline to equate to the amount of space it took-up? If so, why?
* Why did characters appear for 2-10 pages, only to be never seen again? And their impact seemingly never carrying through the remainder of the novel?
* What would future Betty tell us about her father? He received so much kindness in her eyes as a child but clearly had his own issues with dissociation, like most other members of the family; she accepted his dissociation for most of the novel because he rooted himself in his religion and culture. But there's a difference between being observant and oblivious and I'd be curious to know what the Betty of today thinks of him. Did it change? Is it the same? Based on the authors interviews, I would assume that Betty's opinion has not changed with time.

View my full review and conversation at KolorfulKayReads on Instagram

Content Warnings

nicolettae's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

No words can describe how spectacular this book is. Absolutely no words. I loved every poignant, soul-wrenching, heartwarming, incredibly sad second of Betty.

I was blown away by the story, McDaniel’s magnificent writing style, the imperfectly beautiful characters, and the slow and predictable Appalachian world building.

Be forewarned that Betty is triggering on every level, from incest to rape to graphic animal abuse, but overall the story was spectacular… absolutely spectacular. May be one of my new favorite books of the year.

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allen_michaela_'s review against another edition

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I got to the rape scene and could not handle it.

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puzzledbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous 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
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

bookscoffeehayley's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

CW: rape, death of a child, animal cruelty, death of a parent, suicide attempt, pedophilia, racism, addiction, overdose

I really am not sure how to even write a review for Betty by Tiffany McDaniel. I went into this book not really knowing too much about it. I knew it was highly recommended by a few friends and that it was primarily set in the Ohio Appalachian region.

McDaniel’s story is based in part on her mother’s life story and her writing is hauntingly beautiful as she describes every hardship that Betty and the Carpenter family encounters. The members of the Carpenter family come to life throughout these pages and you feel each and every emotion they feel. The pain, the hurt, the laughter, the love. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book that has so forcefully tugged at my heartstrings.

This book has destroyed me in the best way possible to rebuild my heart in the end. Thank you Tiffany McDaniel for sharing the story of Betty. And of Landon, Lint, Trustin, Fraya, Flossie, Alka. These characters will stick with me long after finishing this book. Please read this book.

Content Warnings

rachaeldamms's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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