Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

900 reviews

itsaubvious's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

castoidprocess's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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

The English language falls short on the words I have to express how this book made me feel. It hit so close to home, and I am crying as I write this. I did not want to finish this book, because I did not want it to be over. I wanted to savor each page a little longer. This book is timely and written for everyone who has ever been part of the struggle. Bless you, Barbara Kingsolver, and your knack for capturing the southeast/Appalachia in this light. I don’t usually reread books, but I will return to this one and forever treasure it in my library. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

panderson's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

seashellmeeshell's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent

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

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Wonderfully written, as to be expected from Barbara Kingsolver. This is so sad, and mostly avoids the traps of false hope—showing what seems to be a more realistic portrayal of what recovery can look like and the hurts that persist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent

lexi_k's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

Heartbreaking story that had me very invested in the main character. Sad because I know just how true and accurate it was and it felt so real. Incredibly well written. I laughed, I cried, I got angry and I got excited. A very introspective and unbiased view into the life of Appalachian people 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

kneugebauer's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent

Minor: Racism and Suicide

natreadthat's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Hot take: I found it very hard not to hate this book. Perhaps it was wrong book, wrong time. Perhaps it was just depressing AF. I know, I know—that was likely the whole point.

The book itself is well-written and immersive. Kingsolver does a phenomenal job capturing some really agonizing realities: addiction, poverty, fostering, death, griet, abuse. The level of realism forces readers to feel like they’re going through the troubles the characters are, and that alone is painful.

If I had to rate this for enjoyment, it'd probably be a three-star read. For storytelling? I'll give it four.

After pondering over it all for a week or so now, I wonder if this story has gotten praise because it ebbs towards poverty-porn. Is it a good story because it's a good story? Or because of how dramatic and sad it is? I guess that will be up to you to decide. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content

ginnydw'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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Abortion, and Abandonment