Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

156 reviews

plusverb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad slow-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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

katebitters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

This was a tough book to get through, and I'm not sure it added anything new or profound to the conversation about drug abuse, poverty, and rural America. I almost quit reading at several points because the story was so damn depressing and seemed to be spinning in circles instead of moving forward along some kind of story arc.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Sexism, Death of parent, and Classism

jacduc777's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, Sexual content, and Abortion

c_dmckinney's review

dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ksbrooks98's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

I saw someone else say that this is now the basis for a great book, and I agree. 
We follow Demon for a significant portion of his childhood. As he grows and matures, the tone shifts, the writing changes. We can see his world as clearly as our own. We see the people we are there for him, and we see the people, the systems that fail him. Barbara Kingsolver puts so many failed and abused systems under the microscope all investigated by a boy who, by the end, I felt like I knew personally. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Bullying, Car accident, and Abortion

kateywaldhart's review

adventurous challenging emotional medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

bwilliams24's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Abortion, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

moonbasket's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

This book is upsetting and stressful. It is not for the faint of heart, but it is a well crafted story about a minority demographic in the Appalachian mountains. As a Tennessee queer, this story was extremely important to me. It was also very well written. Check the content warnings for your triggers, but if it's within your tolerance, I highly recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Abortion, and Pregnancy

allycmerritt's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense medium-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

5.0

This book!! It is so full of unbridled beauty and darkness. It paints the underbelly of foster-care and opioid abuse in this country in a new light. I was particularly touched by the main character's unbelievable faith in humanity after consistently being exposed to devils and cowards. 3/4s of the way through, the main character's circumstances were so horrible that I almost gave up, but I am glad I stuck it out until the end, which surprisingly left off on a hopeful outlook with possibilities ahead. I will think about Demon Copperhead for a long while, I think. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Classism

snarkycrafter's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.25

Wow. This was a great piece of literature that was a very difficult read. It hurts some really hard, and dark, topics and themes. 

I did not look forward to reading some parts of it and had to read it in small bursts. It took me liber than usual to get through it. BUT, it was worth it. It’s decidedly worth the read…just difficult and painful to process. Definitely take a look at the trigger warnings because…damn. 

Anybody will tell you, the born  of this world are marked from the get out. Win or lose. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Suicidal thoughts