Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

44 reviews

_lars_'s review

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual content, Medical content, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Violence, Ableism, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Abandonment

There was some really uncomfortable

sexual scenes described from a child's perspective & then more sexual scenes acted out by said child

drpeeper's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Not as bad as I feared, some inaccurate pop psychology that would likely only bother folks that work in the field, maybe some ableism/not ideal depiction of mental health but not egregious. Chapters from kid’s POV were deeply cringey but i could see how that would be hard to avoid. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness

amaranth_wytch's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Chronic illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Sexual content, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cursing, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Child abuse

rorunyon96's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma

khowey's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Incest

mlynn2004's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

1.5

If the author truly wants to continue writing horror, she is going to have to figure out how to reign in her overwhelming ableism. I think— I hope— what she was attempting to do is destabilize the reader’s sense of reality: an admittedly effective way to incite horror. But in actuality, the most horrifying about this book is the nagging concern that the author is either compassionless, uninformed or hell-bent on pathologizing a seemingly neurodivergent and obviously traumatized child. 

Under the circumstances of the plot, this could have been a challenging an honest look at parenting through generational trauma, but instead the author chooses to demonize a child that is clearly suffering, even while presenting good reason for that suffering. It is a baffling choice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Ableism, and Blood

Moderate: Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse

danyels_denouements's review

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, and Mental illness

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

roxfoxreads89's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

2.5

Oddly enough, I hated the “psychopathic” child the least of all main characters. Suzette and her desperation for Alex was practically unbearable. Alex was just a gaslighting asshat. 

I was also annoyed by the psychologist diagnosing her with either “psychopathy” or “sociopathy” which are not an actual diagnosis. Anti-social personality disorder wasn’t even mentioned.

Maybe the point is that Suzette was just as bad. She also wanted Alex all to herself. Whatever Hannah’s issues, she got them from her. However, I was actually rooting for Hannah because Suzette was so irritating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Sexual content and Child abuse

hazle_363's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This book was compelling but I was anxious the whole time I read it

I didn’t like the open ending, I wanted to have Janna’s brain explored a bit more and a resolve to whether her and her mom would reconcile

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Domestic abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Cursing, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Self harm, Blood, Violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Grief, Gore, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Body horror

jennylane's review

fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail