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zoinkie's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death, Physical abuse, Addiction, Child abuse, Classism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Trafficking, and Violence
astoriareader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
- Damon Fields, aka Demon Copperhead, is born in Southern Virginia in the late 1980s to a teen mom with substance issues. Demon’s mom is in and out of rehab, and he is partly raised by the Peggots.
- Demon’s mom ends up marrying an abusive man.
- Demon is shuffled off to a foster home run by Mr. Creakle & then a few more. He finally ends up with football coach, and the book weaves his story with opiod addiction.
- Prior to reading this one, I saw some articles online about it that said it is a retelling of Dicken’s novel entitled David Copperfield.
- After seeing rave reviews & that the author won the Pulitzer Prize for this book, I waited on library wait list for quite a while. I am in the minority here, but this book & writing style was not for me.
- Although the opiod crisis is a serious topic, I can’t recommend this book. This book DRAGS. It is so unnecessarily slow. It took me 7 days to finish. I typically finish any book, even books I don’t like, in max 4 days. It was getting to feel like homework getting through it. There’s a ton of parts that didn’t need to be included.
- The writing style was nauseating to me. I hated it. It is Demon describing & relaying things, and his voice wasn’t strong enough for that job. It’s like a child relaying things to you for 500+ pages. I also didn’t buy Kingsolver’s ability to write in the shoes of this character. It didn’t sound realistic at all.
- The characters are all flat & many are stereotypical cliches. To name a few, think: single drug addicted mom living in trailer, abusive stepdad, Appalachians are all white people, Appalachians are hillbillies.
- I also found Demon’s trajectory unbelievable in terms of his path to drugs. It doesn’t line up with everything he has witnessed & experienced. The author comes across as an outsider to the subject.
- I did like the Peggots, Aunt June, Mrs. Annie, and Tommy.
- I enjoy complex characters that make sense, but the characters in this book don’t make sense.
Graphic: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Addiction
Moderate: Death, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Classism
Minor: Vomit and Homophobia
kelsimarirobb's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Classism, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Mental illness, Death, Child abuse, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
hannahcstocks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Ableism, Abortion, Blood, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Excrement, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Medical trauma
Minor: Suicide and War
karyan1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Addiction, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Rape, Toxic friendship, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Vomit
dev921's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Vomit, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Trafficking, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Child death, Classism, Death, and Transphobia
navyredrose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Death, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Addiction, Pregnancy, Drug use, and Cursing
Moderate: Gore, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Classism, and Alcohol
Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, Trafficking, Sexual violence, and Animal death
graciepie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Sexual content
shelfofunread's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Death
Moderate: Classism, Violence, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Self harm, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Alcohol
alisonvh's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Physical abuse, Self harm, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Suicide, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Violence, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Racism