Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

67 reviews

abbruzzese's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

Oh girl, we have known littlebit love. That littlebit of honey left in an empty jar that traps the sweetness in your mouth long enough to mask your hunger. We have run tongues over teeth to savor that last littlebit as long as we could, and in all our living, nothing has starved us more.

written so nicely. compelling story, and though i never felt attached to any of the characters, i appreciate the way they're written. very human, flawed enough but not so much that they're despicable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Abortion, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Infidelity

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, and Rape

Minor: Racism

eloiseatthelibrary's review against another edition

challenging mysterious sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion and Suicide

Moderate: Child abuse

namii's review against another edition

1.5

i hated reading about luke i hated all the men in this book i hated how they talked about abortion.  
Nadia made awful choices that i don’t understand but i get that i’m not really supposed to understand most of those choices that just felt harmful to everyone including herself. 
It’s like instead of choosing something easy she decided to torture herself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Fatphobia, Suicide, Abortion, Death of parent, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Rape, and Xenophobia

bookishbeccahale's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism

jaja_1212's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

The characters felt realistically flawed in their own ways and I enjoyed the writing metaphorical and intimate writing style, which kept me going even although the narrative voice took a while for me to get used to.

After getting such a deep, intimate look into the lives and minds of these characters the ending felt a little too abrupt,  I can see why the author might want to end it at that point in their lives though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Abortion, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Violence, Grief, Rape, Infidelity, and Child abuse

Minor: Racial slurs, Car accident, Alcohol, and War

jessereadsthings's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Really interesting story! My only complaint is I’m not sure how I feel about the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Suicide

abbie_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

I was heading for a bit of a slump, luckily Brit Bennett’s debut sailed in and saved the day! I read The Vanishing Half when it came out, loved it, then in classic fashion, didn’t get round to the author’s debut for 3 years. But The Mothers is definitely worth the wait, I may even have enjoyed it more than The Vanishing Half, can’t quite decide!

It’s only 280 pages or so, but it has the richness of a novel twice that length. It follows the impact of a decision made by a 17 year old girl that reverberates through her life and the lives of those around her. It includes a perspective we don’t often hear from when it comes to abortion, and to me it felt thoughtfully done. Bennett navigates the ups and downs of a teenage friendship through to adulthood, and I think everyone did genuinely feel like they’d grown up - so often characters in their twenties are written to behave like 16 year olds.

There are quite a few questionable decisions made throughout this book, which honestly I always love lol. Can’t be dealing with drama in real life but I love my books with plenty of messiness. If you enjoy a good drama centred on friendship rather than family, I’d def recommend giving this one a go!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Suicide, Abortion, Medical content, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse and Rape

sparklefarm's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I don't know how to review this book. I've been sitting with it two days after I finished. I read Bennett's The Vanishing Half first, and found it arresting and unputdownable, which was not necessarily the case for The Mothers, although I truly enjoyed it. I think when reading books I tend to want them to have "a point," or a true conclusion. The Mothers didn't; it had the literary equivalent of a song fading out. No less effective, but it left me wanting. I wanted to know the details about whether our characters were okay, did they heal, did they find what they were looking for? But I suppose that's also the hallmark of a good book. I've kept thinking about Aubrey and Nadia and Luke, because Bennett made them feel real. She's so good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Abortion, Suicide, Gun violence, and Sexual assault

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Medical trauma

yajairat's review against another edition

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

4.25

Brit Bennett's novels read like a movie to me, they would be great for the screen! This book had me hooked from beginning to end. I really liked seeing the effects that different types of mothering (or lack of) had on the characters throughout the book. It's a little easier to understand why Nadia and Aubrey are the way they are. With that being said, they (along with Luke) were pretty frustrating characters, I found myself scowling a lot at my kindle when they made decisions that I found... stupid? But I understand that it's in the name of showing us their complex personalities. I kind of felt sad for the characters, for their relationships and where we left them. I wish we had a little more closure, a look into what they were feeling, if they found peace within themselves. 

I appreciated the way the author approached the topic of abortion, with all of its nuances, what ifs, and effects on both parents. Also really liked its commentary on motherhood and the Black church (shoutout to the mothers). 

Loved loved loved Brit Bennett's writing, using terms like unpregnant and unloved in the context of this story were very powerful, and a reason why I was so engrossed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Death of parent, Suicide, and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault and Pregnancy

arminam's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, and Suicide