Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

39 reviews

samantha1960's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This story is heartbreaking and absolutely unnerving but so beautifully written it’s hard to put it down once you pick it up. Kiara is a character I’ll think back on for years to come. An unbelievable debut novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Violence, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Death, and Police brutality

emilinaballerina's review

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Sexual content, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Self harm, Classism, and Police brutality

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, and Pedophilia

cameronrae's review

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.5

This story was heartbreaking. The adult content juxtaposed with Kiaras thoughts emphasized her youth and made her immaturity but also incredible strength shine.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Rape

theblushbookworm's review

dark emotional 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

4.5

Wow, it’s a mind-boggling experience to read a book with such beautiful prose about a subject so dark. In order to stay off the streets, 17-year-old Kiara is now working on the streets in sex work by first accident, always necessity, and later coercion. Kiara is supporting herself, her older brother, and her neglected 9-year-old neighbor. They all find themselves parentless as a trauma took away Kiara’s mother,  death her father, and drugs her neighbor’s mother. The rich tapestry of characters in this book just trying to make it and the often judged “choices” they make to do so is treated with so much care and nuance. This book is beautiful, heartbreaking, and an epic reminder of the humanity of all sex workers and in the inhumanity of some cops. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Murder, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Police brutality, Pedophilia, and Death of parent

erikaareadss's review

challenging dark emotional 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

THAT WAS  A HUGE PUNCH TO THE STOMACH. OH MY GOD. I WANT TO CRY. I WANTED THE BEST FOR KIARA AND OMG TREVOR. TREVOR. ALÉ. ALÉ AND KIARA I CALLED IT RIGHT FROM THE START. I NEED TO REREAD THIS OMG. TEARING UP. WTF. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Self harm, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Racism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

issyd23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Harrowing! Child turns to sex work to pay bills thanks to deadbeat family. Horrifyingly inspired by true events. NB ACAB! 3🚔

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Sexism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Racism, Abandonment, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Child death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Terminal illness

kp_writ's review

3.0

Extremely mixed feelings about this read. Some of the most poetic and mesmerizing prose I've seen in a novel, with very real and poignant slice of life writing for the first quarter of the book. But the plot and pacing honestly made this read a bit miserable. 

Very bleak and caused me to dissociate, so I admittedly skimmed through half the novel and therefore missed out on that poetic prose that was the strongest asset. The plot wallowed so much in its depressing and traumatic turns (of which there were many...) that it got in the way of any character development and relationship building. While the conflict between characters was very real and nuanced, the relationships themselves felt static and stubborn, usually forgotten when the two characters weren't interacting on the page. 

In the end, each character felt less like a person and more like an object to project plot points and thematic messaging, which of course under baked any message that was conveyed. I cannot understate how much trauma these characters endured, and how unnecessary some of the descriptions and events seemed to me. While I don't doubt this amount of trauma is reality for some Black Americans, the overuse of it, in combination with some of the other weaknesses of this book, took away from the storytelling. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Stalking, and Rape

Moderate: Racism, Addiction, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Bullying, Death, Misogyny, and Mental illness

bambooboy's review

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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Transphobia, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Classism, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Vomit, Colonisation, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Violence

preciouslittleingenue's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

I gave all my thoughts on this one in the sapphlit zoom chat. Four stars because it wasn’t something I could thoroughly “enjoy” because of how traumatizing and dark and visceral it was. Fuck the police. Fuck all the men who placed their dreams on the shoulders of a little girl and then BLAMED HER for turning to sex work to support and uplift said dreams. That girl never did and never will get justice. And she is just one of tens of thousands of real life girls in the same situation. God. This author is incredible. And wrote it so young. Cant wait to see what else she does. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Blood, Sexual assault, Child death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Pedophilia

hanelisil's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

🥺 Heart-wrenching and brilliantly written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Death, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Sexual content, and Trafficking