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wordsofclover'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
4.5
“And what is love? I human, I have feelings. I with the man. Of course I love him. Yet, the way he love me does make me hate myself.”
This book tells the story of Alethea, an almost 40-year-old woman living in Trinidad and daily having to hide the marks her common law husband gives her every night. As we get to know Alethea - her intelligence, her independence and her childhood, the reader begins to understand the reasons why Alethea 'allows' herself to be trapped inside an abusive relationship. But when a woman is shot dead by a man in a 'domestic incident' outside the shop she works in, Allie can't help but see herself in the victim, and the potential of something just as deadly happening to her.
This book is addictive as you grasp onto Allie's story and all the hardships she's dealt with in life and you just root for her to stand up for herself and somehow get away from Leo and make things better for herself. It was lovely seeing Allie reconnect with her cousin/brother Colin, and her childhood friend Jankie and I enjoyed the emphasis on female friendship and support and kindness from others.
There are some really hard moments in this book - not only the constant abuse and fear Allie feels around Leo but also as we learn from her childhood, the sexual abuse she received from her uncle from the age of 5, as well as the daily physical and emotional abuse of her mother. And from there, the stream of men Allie found herself with that treated her the same, so she really knows nothing but abusive relationships and men who will put her down - physically and emotionally.
There were some interesting topics in this book as well around race and colourism. Allie is a white woman though we soon learn her grandmother was a Black woman - and Colin is a Black man. Allie details ways in which she has noticed she has been treated differently to Colin due to their skin tones.
Really enjoyed this though as I've said it was a hard read at times. Allie's story is tough, educational yet inspiring.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Miscarriage and Infertility
sidekicksam's review against another edition
I don't want to waste too many words on this review because I'm having a hard time finding the right ones to describe how amazed, inspired and surprised I was about this book. Exploring themes of domestic abuse, generational trauma, colonialism, colorism and friendship, Allen-Agostini writes beautifully and engagingly. She could've written the story over 1.000 pages and I still would have wanted more, but that made it all the more amazing that she did it in less than 250 and it still made me feel so engrossed in the main character and her story.
Highly recommend. Go read.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Rape, Death of parent, Death, Racism, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Alcohol, and Incest
tombomp's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I think it's hard to put my thoughts together about this. It's a cavalcade of trauma and abuse and then it just ends so... neatly? Like, not that the scars are resolved obviously. But it feels weird - although even saying that feels wrong, as if I'm suggesting that actually the trauma should have carried on, which is also not what I meant.
I think part of it is that the neat ending owes very little to the actions of the main character in the "present day" - there's connections formed in childhood that only just come back around all at once and we only see bits and pieces of how they happened and Spoilera loose friendship where the other person seemingly took it upon herself to get the MC's abusive violent boyfriend shot in a way that framed him as the shooter? it's a little vague at the end exactly what happened and how much knowledge people had but it's heavily implied imo. That's not bad exactly - everyone needs support and it's good to show stuff happening as a group effort, obviously. It more just adds to the sense that things wrapped up due purely to coincidence than anything else. Which... again I guess that's not that inaccurate to real life. So again I can't exactly mark it down for that.
I think the explicit child sexual abuse scene really threw me for a loop and eclipsed everything else about the book. Not suggesting it's wrong to portray it, just it was so intense (even though I had to skim it) that I couldn't really get settled about how I feel about the book due to feeling so upset and lost reading that.
I will say as an obvious unalloyed good thing: the Trinidadian Creole writing style is really good and I loved reading it. It's an incredibly readable book that's quite compelling
Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Infertility, Incest, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Rape
dreamersmind's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Physical abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Infertility, Death, Alcoholism, Rape, and Pedophilia
t33_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Sad, intense, empowering, womanhood, emotional. I don’t think I’ve ever read something like this before but I am glad that I have. My God, this book was something else! I barely write reviews and I don’t give many books 5 stars but this story was impeccable.
10/10 across the board!
Graphic: Child abuse, Infertility, Death, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Emotional abuse
alexiconic'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
4.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Addiction, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Death of parent, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Rape, and Toxic relationship
dallastodd's review
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Gun violence, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage
giraffeluver02's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Incest, Rape, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Infertility, Grief, and Gun violence
Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, and Addiction
jadew2000'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
Graphic: Rape, Incest, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Death, Alcoholism, and Infertility
Minor: Miscarriage and Gun violence
avinawood's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Racism, Infertility, and Miscarriage
Minor: Alcohol, Colonisation, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting