Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Vi dyra by Justin Torres

40 reviews

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad

• 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

This book pulls at the threads of humanity, fraying the fabric until it's distilled to its purest parts. The narrator shows the core memories of childhood, building up into the moment of the fracturing of his family unit and the unit that was made up of his brothers. Their childlike, experimenting, queered, and crushed mother makes such a complex character, as does their father and the juxtaposition of his tenderness and machismo. This book is truly unsettling and full of life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Outing, Sexism, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcohol, Homophobia, and Incest

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

sirenaluna's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.5

This coming of age story is told in vignettes of different events in the childhood of the main character and his brothers. Torres’ writing is beautiful, lyrical and breathtaking in a way that had me pause to read certain lines over and over again. It is definitely a shorter book, and some of the vignettes are a little vague/sparse, but this little book really digs itself a place in your heart and takes root.

Only thing is that I wish the ending had a bit more subtle build up throughout. There were some hints sprinkled in certain parts if you read back but I definitely think there could’ve been more to really drive the ending home. It is still impactful, but could’ve been much more so.

But overall, it is a beautifully story about a complicated family and how the consequences of the parent’s behavior manifest in their children.

As a Puerto Rican myself, I related to and understood a lot of the cultural aspects the book touches on, and especially loved how it critiques the machismo that is so prevalent in minority communities.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

cococorycollins's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Drug use, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Adult/minor relationship

pearsupply's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

this is sadder than the movie

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual content

fructosebaby's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Outing, Domestic abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, and Alcohol

bay22's review against another edition

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Sexual content, Child abuse, Cursing, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abandonment, Racism, Grief, Hate crime, Blood, Body shaming, and Forced institutionalization

Near drowning CW. Dental medical injury CW.

callmeamelia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Violence and Racism

Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Rape, and Bullying

sunmoonstars's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

• 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? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

bail33's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I just finished reading this and this is the kind of book that will take a day to finish but will stay with you the rest of your life. Nothing I can say will properly communicate how this book made me feel. Incredible writing, incredible composition, outstanding book.

Many are rating it lower because of how sad it is, or because they expected typical novel composition, or because of the abruptness of the last chapter. I’ll say that the last chapter doesn’t feel abrupt if you’re picking up on the breadcrumbs left by Torres throughout the latter half of the book; the composition is absolutely perfect for the content, in my opinion because it mirrors the disjointedness that was the life of these brothers; and the sadness makes sense, as the book is loosely based off of Torres’ life and the sadness seems appropriate for the content and the amount he is reflecting on his upbringing. Everything in this novel felt right to me, and all of the artistic choices felt like they fit perfectly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Bullying, and Child abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Abandonment

faythfarrar's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Outing, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Minor: Sexual assault