Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Vi dyra by Justin Torres

26 reviews

titiscorner_191's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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

3.0

This was a book club read from my work book club.

With that being said, I most likely wouldn’t have read this book on my own. It took me a while to read. It is very raw and I typically read for fun lol so this book was the opposite of that completely. I felt like I was reading a book for English class. 

I found the style of writing difficult and hard to follow, but taking a long time to read the book may have contributed to that opinion. After researching more about the book and dissecting it, I found it interesting that the book is loosely based on the authors life, but the actual events that took place are fiction. I also found confirmation that the narrator and youngest brother is never named throughout the story. At a certain point I was like “what’s his name again?” Only to find out he was never named (lol).

I probabaly wouldn’t suggest this book to another person, but I have given 3/5 because while I didn’t enjoy the writing style, I see the hard work of the author and feel someone who typically reads this genre/style would enjoy this read.
 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

dawntin's review against another edition

emotional fast-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

2.5

I did not like the author’s writing style. This book is semi-autobiographical, but it felt like it was hinting at something I couldn’t quite get the whole time. There were moments that seemed like they were going to lead up to something more but never did, like when the narrator’s mother was

being cared for by her female supervisor and the supervisor kisses her. Maybe it was to show the mother possibly being queer but in the closet? I’m not sure, and it was never mentioned again.

There was such a heavy focus on the narrator’s childhood that the ending felt like it came out of nowhere, since there was little buildup to it. The whole book made me uncomfortable, and I get that it’s probably the purpose of the book, but it just was not for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual content and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Forced institutionalization

gotnoculture's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Bullying and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

during a later scene the boys are shown incest pornography by a neighborhood teen and this scene is quite troubling

nikkiehippie0's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

There is nothing in this world I like better than a book that feels alive and lived in. We The Animals is such a heartbreakingly perfect slice of a life in a book. It gives you a these glorious views into a group of brothers and their parents so fiercely in love and connected to each other it hurts them all. Every word, every line in this book is well placed and matters. Nothing is drawn out or wasted. Torres paints pictures with his prose that leave you aching when he is done. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Homophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Child abuse

gabiy's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

cardiffbabs's review against another edition

challenging emotional fast-paced

4.0

Fierce, poetic, challenging 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

dgrstory's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse

yleavy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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: Domestic abuse, Outing, Mental illness, Child abuse, and Homophobia

specificwonderland's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

In a way, not too much happened in this brief novella. In another way, so much happened. To list out the plot points is novella-length, a truncated bulleted list. To describe the characters' inner workings is a much larger project. I felt for these brothers and their survival. You could see how Paps exerted his influence but the kids didn't fully shrink away or lose themselves until the final threads of the story got woven. He exerted his influence on the mom from day 1, to everyone's detriment. You could feel the helplessness of the kids being swept along with the parents' bullshit. You hope kids are well cared for by competent parents but that's not always the case. Parents can just be people, and people are imperfect to some degree. And what a cast of ancillary characters: the neighbor, the bus driver and the mom's coworker Camrade. Re: the neighbor, it's infuriating that kids could be outside bouncing a ball yelling about the abuse they were bearing and the neighbor would be like, 'Hmmm this is a perfect time to show neglected kids incest porn'. But you know that happens in small towns, big towns, rich towns, poor towns. These kids never stood a chance, but they had each other.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Rape

sorenzs's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Beautiful writing style. Beautiful book. Some parts were hard to get through - in the emotional sense - but I couldn’t stop reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Outing

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Alcohol, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Rape, Incest, and Pedophilia

Minor: Infidelity and Addiction