Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson

51 reviews

bridgetlovesbooks's review

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Slavery, and Child abuse

tayloremmap's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

2.5

I really enjoyed Pheby’s story, but I felt like this book was just a check-list of plot points that could have been fleshed out more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Racism, Rape, Torture, Murder, Racial slurs, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Death of parent, Excrement, and Sexual violence

thebookishfarmer's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

liteartha's review

challenging sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, and Rape

mossybooks's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Slavery, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Blood, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence

bennse2's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Child abuse

shelleyanderson4127's review against another edition

informative relaxing sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

 
This is a very interesting historical novel about a light-skinned enslaved woman in ante-bellum Virginia. As a young girl Pheby Brown was protected by her mother and her friendship with her enslaver's daughter. But when the daughter dies, and the master takes a new wife, Pheby's sheltered life is shattered.

She is sold by her enslaver's wife and marched to a notorious prison, dubbed the Devil's Half Acre, in Richmond, where the enslaved are broken and sold on. Pheby becomes the mistress of the jail's brutal owner, and bears him three daughters. The contradictions of her perilous position, on one hand privileged, on the other still enslaved and complicit in grooming other women, are clearly drawn. The author does a good job exploring Pheby's point of view and her struggle to survive and to protect her children.

This is a fast paced novel that reads quickly. What I found most interesting is the fact that the novel was based on the true story of a formerly enslaved woman named Mary Lumpkin. She arrived at the notorious Lumpkin's slave prison in Richmond, Virginia, as a child. Robert Lumpkin owned the prison and was the biggest slave trader in the city. Infamous for his cruelty, according to records he treated Mary and their five children as a family. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Rape

author2223's review against another edition

challenging dark informative 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Torture, and Blood

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Child abuse

liblibby's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Rape, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

sarah_speaks's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.75

Astounding book ruined by a very confusing ending. I loved the first 95% of this book, but the book tries to wrap up all of its loose ends - both narrative and emotional - in the span of two letters. The ending left me deeply unsatisfied after the novel’s previous focus on the depth of emotion within Pheby herself and in her interactions with other characters. Pheby’s raw, primal maternal instinct is powerful throughout this novel - but we’re removed from its depth and shoved into third person at the moment we want to experience Pheby’s desire to protect her children the most. This would have been a 5-star read but for the disjointed and rushed ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Child death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Death of parent