Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

151 reviews

gloriazthompson's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-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

I can see what all the hype is about. Kingsolver is an incredible writer. Demon was a character to root for despite all the tragic circumstances of his life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual content

Moderate: Medical trauma

Minor: Miscarriage, Racism, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

honeybeewitched87's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Trafficking, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

crossinthepnw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative 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

Oh man…where to even start with this one. Demon Copperhead is easily one of my top three reads for 2023, and will always hold a special place in my heart. To be clear - this is my first Kingsolver work I’ve read (and now I will be reading more of her stories!), and I’ve never read David Copperfield by Charles Dickens…but now I am curious to read the source behind the inspiration for her novel.

Demon Copperhead will piss you off. It will make you cry. You will try to remind yourself that this is a work of fiction, but is clearly based in reality, which will in turn make you even more upset that this kind of shit is still happening. If you didn’t hate Big Pharma before (which if you already don’t…come on), you will after reading this novel. It also made me think about the joke of the war on drugs and the opioid crisis. How our foster care system is screwed. How some folks are just fucked before they even get a start in life.

But the novel isn’t all doom and gloom, I promise. There is hope, love, joy, and laughs along the way. It’s also a coming of age story about a boy who many people wouldn’t give a second thought about on account of where he grew up. The first person narrative of Demon took this tale to another level; Kingsolver has a way of transporting you to his world and his life.

 I am so happy that Kingsolver took the time to tell this story, about the “rednecks”, “hillbillies”, or “trailer trash” folks don't seem to give a shit about, and how the opioid epidemic has done so much damage in Appalachia. Please, read this one; I read it in five days because I could not put it down!

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

atamano's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Sexism, Vomit, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, and Pregnancy

yourssincerelyemma's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

agnesg's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Grief, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Toxic relationship, Vomit, Trafficking, and Car accident

jamie_rich's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book made my heart hurt. But it's beautiful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

bdowning81's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

Incredibly moving and engrossing modern-day take on David Copperfield in the Appalachia region. I kept having to pause the audiobook - wonderfully narrated by Charlie Thurston - to catch my breath or cry, or just to process what I'd just heard.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mreads03's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

This is an incredibly hard and emotional book but it's worth the read. It addresses personal and social values in a way that is infrequently discussed in our age. It shines a direct and unflinching light on the effects of poverty and the opioid crisis in modern rural America. It's going to be one of those books you walk away from and think about for years to come.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

poetsofsweetpea's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.5

It's pretty much what you would expect for a Appalachian version of David Copperfield.  The characters were big and believable. I'm not a fan of coming of age stories.  I especially find it difficult to watch characters make bad decisions.  There was too much of the darkness in the real world in this novel and I found it difficult to stay in it.  Everything in me told me to abandon this book. I did not.  It's well written and a story that should be told.  It's just not my thing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail