Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

84 reviews

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

this was a very very character heavy book (not in amount but in development and exploration), so definitely keep that in mind when deciding to read this. while i think it should’ve been cut down a bit, all of the pages allowed us to fully understand and watch not only the main character, but all the characters. this was definitely a good read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Classism, Child death, Death of parent, Racism, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Violence, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Suicide, Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Drug abuse

sjtowry's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

Moderate: Blood, Classism, Racism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Pregnancy, Violence, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Trafficking, Vomit, Addiction, Abortion, Abandonment, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Toxic relationship

sineadlgull's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

Enjoyable listen. Slow pace but never found myself bored. Interesting story and great character development of the main character. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Classism, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Alcohol, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Racism, Toxic relationship, and Suicide

Minor: Trafficking and Sexual violence

s_r96's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Addiction

Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Miscarriage

camillaforte's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

Reading parts of this book feels like army crawling through gravel, but Kingsolver is a master of give and take writing. She always knows just when to ease up a little bit to get you through. Demon Copperhead is heartbreaking, darkly funny and immensely insightful. 
I’m only knocking half a star off for the shallow purpose of marking that this wasn’t enjoyable for me at times, purely for personal reasons having nothing to do with the quality of the book itself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Death of parent, Abandonment, Child abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Abortion, Blood, and Cursing

lduff1's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Alcoholism, Drug use, Death of parent, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Blood, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Sexual content

Minor: Vomit

chantaal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Classism, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Drug use, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, and Addiction

Moderate: Sexual assault, Bullying, Confinement, Rape, Body shaming, and Racism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Ableism, Abortion, and Animal death

hsieh's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

Kingsolver writes a masterpiece here, a pointed critique of how capitalism fails America and its poorest, through the lens of the struggles of its foster children, the opioid crisis, and how so many people stereotype the rural people of America's forgotten heartland. But Kingsolver is never piteous, never condescending: her characters seek only to be met face to face, understood as full people.

Speaking of, Kingsolver writes characters that could jump off the pages. I cherish, hate and mourn for them like they're my own friends. They're so real I had to double check this wasn't an autobiography. I feel empty now without them.

One of the things I appreciate most about this book, however, is that it never feels like tragedy porn -- a trap I felt books like "A Little Life" sometimes fell into. Each tragedy is crushing, but not without hope; there's always characters on the margins rooting for the protagonist, and his community, to succeed. I only wish their analogues in real life could find the same support.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Racism, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Xenophobia, Addiction, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Child death, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Hate crime, Abortion, Homophobia, Murder, Ableism, and Gun violence

kerbyconner's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This is an amazing, amazing book. It grips you from the very first chapter and keeps you hooked to the very end. Every character is complex and intriguing,  the setting being a character in and of itself. A realistic and heartfelt look at the struggles of poverty, addiction, and the opioid epidemic in Appalachia, while maintaining resilience as a continued theme. Many miss the mark by overlooking or misstating all the good of rural upbringing in telling stories like these, but Kingsolver does not. A must read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Racism, and Trafficking

oliviawhitton's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Death, Gun violence, Drug use, Suicide, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Addiction, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Racism, and Emotional abuse