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faythfarrar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Self harm, Bullying, Death, Incest, Racism, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Rape
Moderate: Ableism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Addiction
mariep97's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Incest, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Racism, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Colonisation, Sexism, Self harm, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Death of parent, Rape, Medical content, Abortion, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Child death
polly_baker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I absolutely loved Betty. Her first person narration, channeled through McDaniel's lyrical prose, amplified the wonder, the confusion, the joy and the hurt that punctuated her childhood and adolescence.
It is all at once a celebration and a damnation of the things we acquire, generation to generation. Parallels are drawn between the indigenous wisdom Betty is gifted from her Cherokee father, and the generational trauma she endures from her mother's abusive past. Betty's narrative gives voice to the many children who bear the burdens of their elders, carrying pain silently, burying it in jam-jars deep beneath the ground.
Betty's father is portrayed through her child's eyes as god-like and mythical, strengthened through his indigenous stories and the knowledge and reverence he held for the Earth. The Cherokee heritage is celebrated and foregrounded, even amidst a world working its hardest to erase it. Betty struggles with her identity as tales of the matriarchal power and strength of the Cherokee collide with a patriarchal and capitalist America, which systematically dismantles indigenous pride, and cultivates shame in its place.
It is a challenging read (worth checking the trigger warnings for) as Betty has borne witness to a multitude of traumatic incidents during her upbringing. But this is not trauma porn... Betty is based on the story of McDaniel's own mother, rooted very much in reality and in the shaping of Betty Carpenter, a new favourite character, and human, who I already deeply miss.
<i>“I realized then that not only did Dad need us to believe his stories, we needed to believe them as well. To believe in unripe stars and eagles able to do extraordinary things. What it boiled down to was a frenzied hope that there was more to life than the reality around us. Only then could we claim a destiny we did not feel cursed to.”</i>
Graphic: Sexual assault and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, and Suicide attempt
mamasquare's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Death of parent and Drug use
elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
Graphic: Body horror, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death of parent, Medical content, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Self harm, Torture, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Gore, Ableism, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Incest, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Rape, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Colonisation, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury
lauralfp's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Incest, Animal cruelty, Child death, Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, and Blood
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Abortion
Minor: Addiction and Ableism
aliciawithoutkeys's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Racism, Blood, Child abuse, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Sexism, Child death, Incest, Grief, Racial slurs, Animal death, Self harm, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Drug use
mik_yekcuts's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Death, Abortion, Rape, Blood, Bullying, Grief, Incest, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia
This book contains very graphic incidents of child sexual abuse, incest, rape, and animal abuse.hespib's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
That said, the prose is so lyrically stunning and the story of family and coming of age brings plenty of beauty despite the many harrowing incidents. I loved the stories Landon tells and the meaning they have despite knowing they’re made up if only you choose to see beyond that.
I love this book even more for being based on a true story. Immediately after finishing, I wanted to know more about the family and found a page on Tiffany McDaniel’s website including photos and further detail about Betty and the rest of the family, including that beyond the book (photos of Betty in 2020 🥹). I would really recommend reading that after the book as it brings the story to life even more and you appreciate how much of a feat this novel is, both for Tiffany to have written it about her own family and for her family to have lived through it and seemingly prospered on the other side despite significant adversity.
Devastating but so beautiful.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Rape, and Incest
Moderate: Child death and Racism
jordyfrombookclub's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Child abuse, Sexism, Abandonment, Child death, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Blood, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Murder, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Death, Animal cruelty, Torture, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
This book barely lets you come up for air. It ties you up with a thin chain of hope and beauty as it drags you rampant abuse and family trauma. Not for the faint of heart (me).