Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

107 reviews

annakh16's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

A note first: I haven’t read any Dickens, so I‘m unfortunately unable to judge the cross-referencing (much to the dismay of my book club - sorry…). 

This is a dark but important book, written with genuine empathy. Demon as a main character roots the story very well, which to me is largely due to the strong sense of voice the author manages to create effectively. The writing took a bit of getting used to, not because it’s bad though. In fact, I think the (not quite?) stream of consciousness style worked well to bring the message across in a genuine way. I was often pleasantly caught off-guard by how Kingsolver would just hit you with really sharp analysis or profound commentary “out of left field”. This is also how she avoids “poverty porn” or sensationalism, if you ask me - by bringing it back to the systemic. 

I do think that some “episodes” were more interesting or well done than others, but this is a light point of critique. And: the

”my adopted sister may actually be in love with me” ending

was weird. Sorry not sorry. 

Overall, this is a well-executed account and something I “looked forward” to reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Self harm and Abortion

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

kschlesinger's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

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

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

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

sometimes_ready's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional lighthearted sad slow-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

4.0

Four because the ending seemed to wrap up real quick, but I don’t know that I could take another half of the book for Demon to tie up loose ends or  fall into more heartbreak to overcome. 

Dark, but very light hearted. Not for the faint of heart. If Sarah McLachlan and the eyes of an angel makes you tear up, you’re gonna need to pace yourself with this one. Loss is a major theme in this book.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence

alverino's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

acdt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death