Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin

22 reviews

richelleski's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Physical abuse, and Adult/minor relationship

megbooks02's review against another edition

emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

“I wonder if maybe all you do is meet people and lose them and your smile fades the further you go because you have to carry the space they leave.” 

WOW! 5,000 stars! The People We Keep broke me and put me back together. I am in AWE of this heartbreakingly beautiful coming-of-age story about healing from relational trauma and finding your own family. 

Julia Whelan narrates the audiobook, so I highly recommend listening to this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

theonlybaillie's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Child abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Cursing, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

gabgeh's review against another edition

sad medium-paced

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

1.5

I would not recommend this book if high-quality writing is a priority for you. A somewhat cute, sad, self-insert story with very few character motivators and very little plot development. Tolerable only because I was reading it for a book club and would be able to trash-talk it after reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death of parent, Dementia, and Drug use

stephsbooktalk's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful sad fast-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? Yes

4.5

"I think maybe everyone is scared to be alone."

This book has been sitting on my shelf longer than it should have. I am not sure if I have been putting it off because the hype was so high and I was scared to read it. This book was chosen as a fiction read for a book retreat I am hosting and I am so glad it was picked. 

April, April, April. My heart went out to the girl. No matter what got thrown her way, she just kept moving forward. She didn't have many people in her life that treated her well but those that did were her ride or dies. 

I was a little bummed that April's adult life didn't go the way that I wanted her development go at the end but I understand that wasn't April. It would have been too perfect if it ended wrapped in a package with a bow. April's life has never been a pretty package. 

The writing flowed beautiful & felt that it went super quick. She wrote the characters beautifully even the side characters. Some of the characters were not around super long but it didn't matter because I still felt like I knew them and could picture them. 

I highly recommend this if you are looking for something that is coming of age, redemption, love of music & want to feel warm inside.  

Also, it still boggles my mind that books that take place in the mid 90s is considered "historical fiction." This will be something I need to work through as the years go on LOL. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Sexual assault and Physical abuse

juliamb's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

martachbc's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.5

After teenaged April’s deadbeat dad disappoints her for the last time, she takes off in his car with the only thing of value he ever gave her - a guitar. Determined to start a new life for herself, she settled in a New York college town before beginning a nomadic, troubadour life up and down the East Coast. With just enough professional success to eke out a living, April doesn’t want for much - just a home, and a family, to call her own.

I loved this heart-aching story - though it certainly left me emotionally bereft quite a few time. April was such a strong but sad character, and I so desperately wanted things to go her way. Of course, this is a 300-plus page book, so be prepared for a lot to go wrong in her journey. But the glimmers of hope, which Allison Larkin carefully bread-crumbs along the way, teach April - and us - powerful lessons about what it means to love and be loved in return. 

What’s holding me back from giving this five stars is a *totally personal preference* regarding what makes a satisfying story arc. Ultimately, I thought the climax and conclusion fit the characters and story. 

It’s easy to see why this book made so many “best of” lists last year - I can’t recommend it enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy and Alcohol

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Drug use, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer

haleynaley's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

4.0

As a journey through the life of someone who gets lost and tires desperately to find where they belong, this book unexpectedly touched me deeply. Its a story about how pain can come from different places but leave the same scar, learning how to choose your own family, when to run and what's worth staying for (and an ode to how fathers can be quite terrible). If you can suspend your disbelief to endure a few hundred pages of a minor/adult relationship, it will sweep you off your feet. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

the adult/minor relationship didnt bother me much only because April lied about her age the entire time and knew that she needed to in order to keep everything in tact

leahrosiee's review

challenging emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Eating disorder

Minor: Death of parent and Cancer

brdoyle08's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective 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, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Child abuse